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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28464861">Dandelion Days</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/asoftplacetoland/pseuds/asoftplacetoland'>asoftplacetoland</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Royal Affair [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Schitt's Creek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassination Attempt(s), Blow Jobs, Camping, Childhood Sweethearts, Family Feels, Family Issues, Fate, First Kiss, First Time, Flowers, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Kid Fic, Letters, Light Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Military Training, Politics, Porn with Feelings, Possessive Sex, Private School, Reunions, Rimming, Romance, Rough Kissing, Secret Relationship, Slow Dancing, Sneaking Around, Time Skips</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:21:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>26,561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28464861</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/asoftplacetoland/pseuds/asoftplacetoland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>David’s first real memory of Patrick involved a scraped knee, a dandelion, and a sunny smile that, upon recounting the tale of how they met, left him blushing so hard Alexis had singsonged “David and Patrick sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” for a solid week.</p><p>The story of Prince David and Bodyguard Patrick from the very beginning. Now complete!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clint Brewer/Marcy Brewer, Johnny Rose/Moira Rose, Patrick Brewer/David Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Royal Affair [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1996171</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>142</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>225</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I realized the other day that I technically hadn't written <i>and</i> published anything this month since FO fics were submitted at the end of November and I couldn't let the year go out like that! Unbetaed but encouraged by the usual gang of suspects.</p><p>2020, of course, has been a hellscape of a year but there has been some bright spots! I found this lovely fandom and have made some truly wonderful and (hopefully) lifelong friends. I've written for fun for the first time in a very long time and have gotten (hopefully) better at it along the way. I have a great new job that values my work and is much closer to home. My family and I are healthy and the rent and bills are all paid. It's enough for now.</p><p>That being said, I wish you all the best in 2021 and I look forward to sharing this sweet story and many others with you all in the coming year! ❤️</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>David’s first real memory of Patrick involved a scraped knee, a dandelion, and a sunny smile that, upon recounting the tale of how they met, left him blushing so hard Alexis had singsonged “David and Patrick sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” for a solid week. David, of course, knew of Patrick prior to being properly introduced to the boy. He’d seen pictures of him in Clint’s wallet and once at the annual royal Christmas Ball, toddler Patrick, dressed in festive red and green plaid shortalls, had followed a few steps behind him all night. At the time, David had been far too interested in the chocolate fountain to pay much attention. When Clint had told David he was bringing Patrick along with him when the royal family went to the summer residence, David was actually a little relieved. Alexis was hardly good company anymore now that she’d decided at the ripe old age of five that older brothers were not very fun and, truth be told, David was a very lonely child.</p><p>David had spent so much of his life in the palace, he’d never really had friends his own age. Sure there were staged playdates with the children of other powerful families, but David found the social dynamic to be very unbalanced. None of them ever wanted to play dress up or imagine they were anything but the spoiled children of some of the most powerful people in the world. They balked at David's board games and his suggestion that they pretend they were pirates or ghosts of that they had their own store. In fact, if David had to pick a best friend, his first choice and only choice was Clint. Clint had been David’s personal bodyguard since birth and David adored the man like a second father. Clint was always quick to make David smile when he’d get upset over his parent’s being gone on state business or when Alexis stole his teddy bear and hid it so well, they couldn’t find it for a month because she’d forgotten where she’d hid it. It was Clint who had taught David how to whistle and how to play checkers and they both loved greasy fast food. Clint would bring a bag of burgers and fries from McDonald’s for lunch every Friday and they would share them out on the balcony and chat. David had every confidence that if Patrick were anything like his father, he might actually have a shot at having his first real friend.</p><p>The summer residence was truly a thing of beauty, all white marble and breezy open-air balconies and dozens of gardens. The Roses had been spending their summers at this particular palace for the past two centuries and David loved how much wide-open space there was to explore. Clint and his wife Marcy and Patrick would be staying in the residence as well but Clint had traveled with them and deferred David’s protection detail on the way up to Alexis’s bodyguard, Ivan. David tried not to be too jealous that Patrick was probably playing "I Spy" and eating french fries with Clint when it should be David.</p><p>“Cheer up, David!” Alexis’s small voice piped up from across the limousine. Ivan was seated at her side, his expression vacant and unfocused, with one large hand held out to her as she carefully painted his nails a bright pink. The light bumps in the road were hardly a deterrent for the determined bundle of energy that was little Alexis Rose. She was dressed in a matching pink dress and her wavy hair was tied back with a pristine white ribbon so she could presumably show off the pink diamond earrings she'd gotten for her fifth birthday. “Daddy said we can have ice cream for dinner tonight!” She said this as though their father hadn’t grandly announced that in the memo of their departure to the residence. David shoved his nose further into his book. Clint had given it to him to read once he’d finished reading it to Patrick and it was full of wizards and magic. David was nearly finished with it and was eager to have something relatable to talk about with the boy even if magic was for babies.</p><p>By the time they made it down the winding road to the palace, it was well into the afternoon. Alexis immediately took off in the direction of the pool while David went to reacquaint himself with all of his favorite hiding spots. The kitchen had gotten a fresh coat of paint since last summer and the game room now had an air hockey table that David was very excited to try out. The mini fridge he’d requested for his bedroom was fully stocked with the creamsicle ice cream bars and cherry soda he’d asked for and his room had been decorated to look like something out of ancient Egypt because he’d been obsessed with the subject the entire year. The bed was covered in Egyptian cotton sheets with gold hangings from the bed posts and the walls had been papered to look like they were covered with hieroglyphics. His personal library had been stocked with fresh books on his favorite subject along with some new fiction selections and the usual biographies and historical accounts of his ancestors that would likely not be read. With his favorite indoor areas explored, David made his way onto the grounds. He could hear the sounds of Alexis splashing in the pool along with his mother’s voice calling out to her to ‘aim all merriment away from the sunbathing chairs.’</p><p>David passed through the tennis court, waving cheerfully to his father and his tennis instructor, Clive. Next he'd walked around the miniature golf course and the second smaller pool and then he was finally at the gardens. He checked on his favorite one first, the Sunrise Garden, named as a nod to his mother’s former acting career. Artful swirls of yellow roses, lilies, tulips, and sunflowers were arranged amid a pathway of yellow brick that reminded David of <em>The Wizard of Oz</em>. David closed his eyes and skipped along the little pathway, taking in the smell of the flowers intermingled with the sea air. He wondered if maybe they’d go to the beach soon and if he’d find another conch shell like he did last year when a small voice cried, “Look out!” David tumbled down onto the pavement as something hard and metal ran right into him. Pain flashed across his knee where it had taken the brunt of the force of his fall and the palms of his hands were scratched and red from the sidewalk. Tears welled up in his eyes as he rolled off his knee to examine the damage. There was a new rip in his jeans at the knee and David could see the bloody raw scrape through the rip in the material.</p><p>“Oh my god. You’re the prince.” A little voice gasped and David looked up to see a small boy with curly hair dressed in a pair of hideous tan cargo shorts and a bright yellow t-shirt with a t-rex riding a surfboard with a speech bubble that said, “Hang Six!” in bold letters. His hair was almost red in the light of the afternoon sun and David noticed a small gap between his front teeth where the boy’s mouth hung open in shock. David could see the blue bicycle that had presumably hit him laying on its side in the pathway. A small sniff drew David’s eyes back to the boy’s face, where his shock was quickly morphing into tears. David blinked his own tears away as he scrambled to his feet. </p><p>“Hey, it’s alright, I’m fine!” David said, holding out his hand to the boy. “You don’t have to call me ‘prince’, I’m just David.” The boy scrubbed a hand over his eyes and took a shuddery breath in and then exhaled out.</p><p>“I’m Patrick.” The boy said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. He stared at David’s outstretched hand wide eyed and then gave him very light handshake. His hand felt so small in David’s and David immediately felt a protective urge course through his body when he saw the beginning of tears again as Patrick looked down toward David’s injured knee. </p><p>“You’re bleeding.” Patrick cried, bending down to examine the damage himself. David took Patrick by the arm and hoisted him back to standing.</p><p>“It’s really fine, Patrick. I promise.” David said with a sigh. Patrick looked at him warily but went to pick up his bike all the same. Patrick moved like he was set to get back on the bike but then something in the flower bed caught his attention. He set the bike on its kickstand, bent down, and plucked something small from the garden bed. David watched curiously as Patrick turned and walked back over to him. Patrick stretched his hand out and David saw he was holding a large dandelion.</p><p>“I’m really sorry for hurting your knee.” Patrick said, holding out the yellow flower for David with a dazzling smile. Although Patrick had somehow managed to pick out the only weed in the garden, David was touched by the gesture. He accepted the dandelion with a smile in return and tucked its stem into his pocket so it wouldn’t get lost or crushed. Patrick nodded at him and then, to David’s great surprise, offered his hand. “I found a rock that looks like a fossil, would you like to see it?” David grinned. He slipped his hand into Patrick’s and was surprised by the firm squeeze of Patrick’s fingers now that he was sure David was indeed okay. David rolled his eyes to feign nonchalance, not wanting to seem overeager, but he nodded.</p><p>“I guess. Lead the way.”</p>
<hr/><p>David and Patrick were inseparable from that first moment on. They spent their summer exploring the palace grounds, looking for fossils and buried treasure and secret tunnels to the kitchen. They had movie marathons and trips to the beach and long drawn-out games of Scrabble that only sometimes ended in tears. Their favorite game of all was to pretend they had their own store where they sold all the interesting things they found on the palace grounds. They could never get a single name to stick but Rose Apothecary was the one that seemed to crop up more often than not. Alexis was their most frequent customer and also the most likely customer to shoplift from their selection of rocks, sticks, flowers. They'd spend long afternoons out on the patio at their pretend store and David loved those times the best. He would ask Patrick questions about how the world worked because despite the slight age difference, it was clear Patrick was wise beyond his years. David loved watching Patrick's "thinking face" as he pondered David's questions and each day, David found he was waking up earlier and earlier to knock on the door of the Brewer's quarters and ask if Patrick could come play.</p><p>After the fourth pre-dawn wake up for Clint and Marcy, David’s ancient Egyptian bedroom was transformed into a sleepaway camp for David and Patrick with a built in booth and shelves to house their store. They had most of their meals delivered to the room and they quickly got banned from ordering snacks to the room but beyond that, the two boys were having the most fun they could possibly have from sunup to sundown. Nights were spent sleeping inside their pillow fort, curled up in matching twin beds and talking about all the sales they'd made at the store that day. Clint would make a brief appearance to tell them it was time to go to bed but once the lights were out, David and Patrick would trade secrets back and forth until they fell asleep. David told Patrick how he was afraid of moths and butterflies and the dark. Patrick told him how he was afraid of spiders and clowns. One night, David shared all his hopes for his future as King with Patrick. </p><p>“And lastly, when I’m King, I will make sure no one goes to bed hungry in our kingdom.” David yawned out as he finished. Patrick hummed at him thoughtfully, his face mashed into the side of his pillow but doing nothing to hamper his smile. </p><p>“That sounds great, David. You’re going to make such a great King.” David rolled onto his side to get a better look at his friend but Patrick's eyes were now closed.</p><p>“Hey Patrick.” David prompted but Patrick’s small chest was already rising and falling in sleep. David snuggled down under his blanket but as he did, he couldn’t help but whisper the truth out loud, just to make it real. “I think you’re my best friend.”</p><p>David decided he rather liked having a best friend.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>With their teenage years stretching out ahead of them, David thinks about love and choices and Patrick learns something new about his future.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Don't worry! I haven't forgotten about updating this week! I'm planning on updating on the weekends so I apologize if anyone was looking for an update on Thursday but here it is at last.</p><p>I wanted to note that I've purposefully left David and Patrick's ages somewhat ambiguous for this story because I didn't want to impose anything that might make someone uncomfortable. Chapter one covers their childhood together while this chapter covers their pre-adolescence and the next will cover their teen years. David does start thinking about romance in a very broad way in this chapter, he notices Patrick's body is starting to change, and he mentions an age difference, which, in my head is smaller than the perceived age difference on the show. All that said, I promise nothing explicit will happen while they are underage. That is not a road I am willing to go down and I wanted to state that ahead of this chapter just in case it was making anyone anxious. 💕</p><p>Now that we've got that out of the way, onto the next chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>David slammed the car door shut, waving Clint off with a fake yawn as he headed toward his rooms. He felt a little badly about leaving Clint so abruptly, especially when they usually played air hockey together after school on Thursdays, but David just didn't feel like it today. His experiment with school was not going like he'd hoped it would, but he couldn't turn back now. Not after he’d begged his parents for the past two years to let him go to an actual school this semester rather than utilize the tutoring staff. He had wanted a chance to actually sit in a classroom of his peers, to voice his opinions and have them heard.</p><p> </p><p>“Dearest why ever would you want to position yourself among the public when you have access to the very finest education a fledgling potentate could wish for?” His mother had asked, barely glancing up from the magazine she was reading, idly stirring her cup of tea with a tiny silver spoon that had a bright red crystal rose fixed onto the handle. His father was currently on a diplomatic trip to Germany and whenever they didn’t travel together, his mother all but demanded his presence from sunrise to sundown. David enjoyed his mother’s company but more than anything, he wanted to use their afternoon tea and gossip session to his advantage regarding the matter of school.</p><p>“It’s about learning more about the world. What good is it to know things if I’ve got no one to share that knowledge with?” David daintily bit off a smaller than usual piece of his ginger scone; he wouldn't put it past his mother to complain about the speed of his eating habits and forget the topic of discussion. He startled slightly when the queen lifted her gaze and fixed it on him. Her eyes studied him closely and David tried very hard not to squirm in his seat. Perhaps he should have waited for his father to return.</p><p>“Very well." His mother said after what seemed like at least a fortnight. She looked back down at her magazine and set the tiny spoon back on its saucer. "I’ll have Raymond draw up a list of acceptable private institutions befitting your statute and we shall try it one semester at a time.” Before David could think otherwise, he launched himself out of his seat and around to his mother’s side of the small table to hug her. His mother stiffened against him before patting the back of his head in the closest approximation of motherly tenderness she could manage. “I just hope the world is ready for you, dearest.” She whispered into his hair, but David was far too excited to notice the weary tone in her voice.</p><p> </p><p>School, as it turned out, was not the grand adventure David had hoped for. It meant he had to wear a very unflattering school uniform and Alexis always had a grand time making fun of him in it before he could slink off to his rooms to get changed. His classmates weren’t too keen on having the prince in their classes and David had eaten every lunch alone thus far. He was far advanced in his knowledge of some subjects like geography and English but to his teachers and classmates great surprise, the history class that covered his own family was like a mystery to him. It made David wildly uncomfortable to have to sit and listen to his family lineage laid out in such a stark light and he never failed to dodge a volley of taunts from his classmates at the end of each class. David hurried to his wing of the palace and as soon as he entered his bedroom, he slammed the door with a grunt. He threw his bag in the direction of his desk, not caring that half the contents inside nearly fell out of it as it landed on the ground with a loud thud.</p><p>“Woah, nice uniform, your highness.” A familiar voice piped up from the armchair near his bookshelf. David smiled despite his sour mood and turned to see Patrick lounging in the armchair. Patrick went to a different school than David and even though David thought his light wash jeans and blue and white striped polo shirt looked ridiculous, at least Patrick still got to dress like himself.</p><p>“It is absolutely <em>not </em>a nice uniform, but it is a small price to pay to get a rare glimpse into the normal world.” David replied with a hauty sniff as he slipped into the closet to change. Clad in the familiar feeling of designer cashmere, David returned to find Patrick sitting upside down in the armchair. Even upside down, Patrick's aim was perfect as he tossed David a candy bar. David caught it and gave Patrick a little salute with it before fiddling with the wrapper. David's nutritionist told the kitchen staff they were to reduce the amount of sugar in David's diet and since then, Patrick had made it his mission to bring David a candy bar whenever he saw him. </p><p>“I still think it’s silly to get your dosage of the normal world through that fancy private school. Why go there when I can offer you all the normal you want?” Patrick placed his palms on the floor and lifted until he was in a perfect handstand. He walked his hands out a few paces and then flipped himself upright. He threw up his arms like an olympic gymnast who had just stuck the landing while David rolled his eyes at the display.</p><p>“Yeah, you’re real normal, Brewer. Maybe normal for the circus.” David finally got the wrapper off candy bar and took a large bite. The flavors of rich chocolate, nutty caramel, and bittersweet mocha burst across his tongue and he couldn't help a happy noise from escaping his lips. Patrick looked far too smug at David's reaction for someone who had a bookbag with an anime rat on it. Patrick crossed the room and rifled through David’s own school bag like the menace with no boundaries he was until he crowed in triumph. David turned away from his candy bar to watch Patrick pull out the romance novel he’d secretly borrowed from the librarian the previous day.</p><p>“Ooo this looks very interesting, David.” Patrick teased, flipping through the book eagerly. He landed on a section and began to read aloud.</p><p>"<em>Veronica’s bosom heaved with emotion, her eyes filled with happy tears as she looked upon the man she loved as though really seeing him for the very first time.</em>” Patrick read before breaking off into a fit of giggles. David flushed with embarrassment and lunged to rip the book out of Patrick’s hands but Patrick was too fast for him. He had David on his back on the floor pinned before David could even blink. David scowled up at him and tried to wriggle himself free but Patrick was stronger than he looked with his skinny arms and legs. He waved the book in David’s face with a smirk. “Why do you even want to read this stuff? It’s lame.”</p><p>“I don’t expect you to understand anything about love or romance until you’re older,” David snapped and Patrick went from grinning to gutted in seconds. It was one of the few times David could ever remember pointing out their difference in age and he knew the insult had worked when Patrick scrambled off him and drew his knees up into his chest. Although Patrick was still small for his age, smaller than David, he always carried himself like he was six feet tall and watching him shrink in on himself made David feel like the worst kind of friend for making him feel that way. He had completely overreacted and he knew it. David moved to sit up, fully prepared to apologize, when those large brown eyes locked on his.</p><p>“I’m sorry for making fun of your book. I think I understand why you like stuff like that. Someone to love you for who you are as a person. Not because your rich, not because you come from a powerful family. Just because you’re...you.” Patrick offered him an apologetic smile and something warm curled up in David’s chest at the sight of it. Patrick handed him his romance novel back and then challenged him to a video game tournament and they forgot all about the romance novel after a while.</p>
<hr/><p>Once school had ended for the year, they made their yearly trek to the summer palace and this time David and Patrick had managed to finally end up in the same car. They’d had all these games planned for the ride down, but David had woken up with a zit last night and it was all he could focus on.</p><p>“David, it’s not even that noticeable.” Patrick said from across the back seat. He was looking over his cards while David examined his jaw in the compact mirror he had lifted from his mother’s vanity that morning. The pimple was practically obscene where it jutted out amid the peach fuzz that lined his jaw. David narrowed his eyes at Patrick, who calmly placed another card on the empty space between them on the bench seat.</p><p>“I don’t trust you to notice it! You never notice anything!” David snapped. He knew he was being irrational, but David was starting to notice people treated him differently when his appearance was as flawless as he could manage. He'd been on the cover of the international edition of <em>Teen Vogue</em> last month and he was just starting to develop his image as the young teen heartthrob his newly appointed publicist said would serve the royal family's image well. A pimple was simply not allowed in that image.</p><p>“Well, I noticed that you’re currently holding a pair of queens and attempting to distract me from that fact by complaining about your zit.” Patrick raised an eyebrow at him, completely content to ignore David’s mood swings as he so often did. It was practically a cornerstone of their friendship at this point. David opened his mouth to protest just as Patrick laid down a straight flush.</p><p>“You’re the absolute worst.” David snapped, throwing his cards down while Patrick slid the pile of candy, loose coins, and a very expensive money clip toward himself with a grin.</p><p>“Always a pleasure beating you, my prince.” Patrick said solemnly as he tore into a package of sour gummy worms. David scowled at the use of his title.</p><p>“You know I hate when you call me that.” Patrick tilted his head to the side, looking for all the world like a curious golden retriever.</p><p>“Everyone calls you that, David.” It was a reasonable enough answer and a true one at that, but Patrick’s recent habit of referring to David by his title was becoming a little grating.</p><p>“I know but <em>you</em> never used to call me that. At least not regularly." David reached across the seat and gave Patrick's free hand a squeeze. "I’ve told you before, we’re equals, Patrick.” Patrick dropped his bag of candy on the floor of the car, cursing when they spilled all over the thick black carpet. David noted when he bent over to clean up the mess that the back of Patrick's neck was bright red with embarrassment. Why would Patrick be embarrassed? When Patrick straightened back up in his seat, he opened his mouth as if to say something but then decided better of it. Instead, he shuffled the deck and dealt the cards out again.</p><p>“C’mon. Whoever loses the next round has to do a snack run to the kitchen in their underwear tonight.”</p><p>David, naturally, lost the next round.</p><p> </p><p>Three weeks later, Patrick tried for a solid three days to convince David to go camping with him in the woods that lined the royal estate. David argued that sleeping in the woods was not an option he was willing to entertain (<em>"Honestly, there could be bears, Patrick!"</em>), Patrick fixed him with his best puppy dog eyes until David agreed to an evening spent outside near the gardens. Patrick still got the outdoor experience he wanted but they were close enough to the castle for bathroom breaks with plenty of bug spray and a netted tent to keep the moths away. Once the night of the camp out came, David couldn’t help but remember their old pillow fort days when he saw the tent. It had been a couple of years since the pillow fort in his old bedroom had been used but he fondly revisited the memory as Patrick held the flap of the tent open for him.</p><p>The tent the staff had found was constructed from thick canvas on all four sides with a netted opening at the top for stargazing. David had to admit the application of a clearly ancient telescope, cheese puffs, and orange soda greatly improved the outdoors. Patrick showed him a couple of the songs he'd learned on the new guitar he'd gotten for his birthday. David loved watching Patrick's long fingers pluck out the chords, humming and half singing to himself as he worked through the proper fingerings. It always seemed like Patrick was naturally gifted at so many things and while Patrick waved off David's praise when he'd finished, neither of them could stop smiling at each other. They chatted about what they expected for school in the fall and when Alexis would return from her modeling camp in Sweden and whether they’d convince Clint to take them into town in the coming week to hang out with some of the locals until eventually they fell into a comfortable silence. They both stretched out on twin sleeping bags side by side and stared up at the stars for a long time before Patrick cleared his throat.</p><p>“So I’ve been wanting to tell you something for a while.” Patrick said, his voice awkward and somewhat stilted. David fought the urge to roll onto his side and stare at him but the level of discomfort in Patrick's voice was so foreign, he couldn't bare to see what it was doing to Patrick's expressive face. “It sort of explains why I’ve been acting—”</p><p>“Stranger than usual?” David lost the battle and rolled onto his side, offering a friendly smile to Patrick, but he was met with an expression just as intense as the one he had expected. The light of the full moon painted Patrick's face in shades of cerulean and shadow, making Patrick seem far older than he was. David noticed for maybe the first time that Patrick looked a little different than he had at the beginning of the past school year. His face had become more angular, the curve of his jaw less rounded and his nose perhaps a bit more pointed. He’d hit a growth spurt that winter and was now only an inch shorter than David, though David had a feeling when all was said and done, David would still end up taller. Even his eyes seemed to be less full of the childlike wonder and humor David had come to lov—appreciate, as a friend. Patrick’s serious expression softened slightly under David’s gaze.</p><p>“Well, strange seems a bit harsh, but I guess it fits. It’s actually the reason I wanted to talk with you outside of the palace walls. That place is bugged to high hell.” David opened his mouth to respond because <em>what </em>but Patrick went right on. “My Dad told me about a month ago about what he hoped for me in the future. Apparently, I come from a really, really long line of palace guards. Like, my great grandfather was the head of the royal guard for King Jonathan the first, did you know that? Isn't that cool?" Patrick laughed nervously but barreled on before David could agree.</p><p>"Well, anyway, the short version is that my family has protected the heir to the throne for almost a century now and so that means one day, I’m expected to do the same.” The admission hung between them for a long moment as David tried desperately to collect his thoughts.</p><p>“Wait…so that means…”</p><p>“Yep.” Patrick finished, “One day, I’ll take my father’s place as your guard.” David let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. He wasn't sure what he had expected but it hadn't been that. He’d obviously known Clint wouldn’t be his body guard forever, but he’d never realized the extent of the history between their families. It made him want to pay more attention in history class next semester but for now, Patrick was staring at him wide-eyed, clearly waiting for a response.</p><p>“Wow.” David managed weakly. Patrick nodded.</p><p>“Yeah, I was kind of surprised by it all too.” Patrick said with a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck as he moved to lie on his stomach with his face turned more fully toward David. He didn’t look as upset as David imagined he must feel.</p><p>“But what if you want to do something else?” David asked, suddenly feeling sick with guilt. “I know you love playing the guitar! You could be a classical guitarist or a song writer or a…a DJ!” David winced as the words left his mouth in a high pitched rush but Patrick smiled at his outburst.</p><p>“You’ve seen me dance, I hardly think DJ is in the cards.” Patrick said, his tone light with that hidden laughter infused in it that always made David want to shove him. David did shove him just to keep himself on task and Patrick let him with a grin.</p><p>“Whatever. But you also love math and you did amazing in your economics course. Oh and you won the debate thingy a while back too! You could go to school and get a degree in rocket science or engineering or become a lawyer or a doctor, even! What if the cure for cancer is locked in your brain, Patrick? What if—” Patrick’s palm gently covered his mouth, startling him into silence. His hand was warm where it touched David’s skin and David had the strange urge to press a kiss to it even as Patrick withdrew.</p><p>“David,” Patrick started, his tone as gentle as his touch had been. “I appreciate this strange future where I’m simultaneously a DJ, a scientist, a lawyer, and a cancer researcher, but I don’t want to do anything else. Getting to personally make sure my best friend is safe from crazy people sounds like a really good thing. Besides, you’re kind of in the same boat as me. Your future is tied to the throne.”</p><p>“I…I never really thought of it like that.” David admitted, his voice faint and hollow even to his own ears. What if David wanted to do something else with his life?</p><p>“It’s not a bad thing, to know your future is set." Patrick said, rolling onto his back, clearly not noticing the crisis he'd inadvertently led David into. "And hey, if it does turn out badly, at least we’ll have each other to commiserate with.” David admittedly felt a little bit better about at least having Patrick around but he couldn’t shake this new feeling of dread. If their future really was set, what room did that leave for choice? Patrick sleepily wished him good night and David stared up at the stars for what seemed like hours until he finally fell asleep.</p><p>David dreamed of Patrick dressed in the same suit his father always wore. They were standing in one of the long corridors of the palace and David realized he was dressed in the traditional coronation outfit. The fur-lined cape weighed as heavily on his shoulders as did the enormous crown that had been fashioned for whatever pompous ancestor demanded its creation so long ago. David tried to talk to Patrick, but Patrick just stared straight ahead, as silent as stone no matter what David did. When David tried to shake him to snap out of it, Patrick sprang to life and broke out of his hold. He started at David frantically for a second before he turned and ran down the long corridor, his pistol brandished against some unseen enemy.</p><p>“Stay right there, my prince! I’ll protect you!” Patrick called over his shoulder and suddenly, David was alone with the weight of his royal trimmings and the sick feeling in his gut keeping him rooted to the floor.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>David has a royal coming of age party, Patrick has a very specific gift for him, and everything is perfect until it's not.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We've finally made it to the "Sweet Sixteen" party referenced in <a>this fic</a> as well as (I'm hoping) the halfway point of this sweet prequel! Yipee! 🤴🏻</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tonight was the first night of the rest of his life. Or at least that’s what David kept telling himself as he fussed with his carefully sculpted hair and patted concealer underneath his eyes. Sixteen was the traditional age at which those next in line for the crown began their formal training, which meant David was about to find out all the secrets they’d been hiding from him over the years. While he was eager to start his proper diplomatic lessons, first he had this party to get through. Most years, David’s birthday was recognized a fortnight prior with an official state dinner that he normally snuck out of early feigning exhaustion. It always seemed his parents were away on formal business on his actual birthday and Alexis was splitting her time between boarding school in Switzerland and establishing her brand as a young model/actress.</p><p>Most birthdays since he'd started going to private school involved having Patrick and a handful of loose acquaintances from school over and they’d order too much pizza and watch movies until they all inevitably passed out. David's favorite part of the night always seemed to happen when everyone else had fallen asleep in their own guest rooms and Patrick would sneak back into his room and they’d talk until the early hours of the morning. David missed having time like that with Patrick now more than ever before. He didn’t see Patrick as much as he used to because Patrick was spending most of his free time with his father. He’d proudly announced to David a few months ago that he was beginning his preliminary training to one day take his spot in the royal guard. Ever since then, Patrick seemed to become quieter and more reserved. His joyous laughter and smile seemed stilted at best, but over the course of an hour or two, David could get him to relax enough to seem more like himself. When asked about what training entailed, Patrick just chuckled and shook his head. “A lot more reading and memorizing then you’d expect and ice baths. So many ice baths.” </p><p>Knowing Patrick would never get a full evening off from training for a sleepover, David had requested a small dinner party in its place. He wasn't at all surprised when his mother immediately denied his request.</p><p>“My darling boy, it’s time you stop hiding from the brilliant shimmer of the royal spotlight and embrace it.” His mother had said before practically dragging him down to their event planner's office.</p><p>That was how David found himself standing awkwardly beside the buffet table in his custom Alexander McQueen suit, shame eating in private on his birthday. Or at least he was trying to, but people kept coming up to him to wish him happy birthday or to ask him if he was excited to start taking his place in society or, worst of all, to flirt with him. David had already gotten used to the idea that the only way anyone would want to become romantically involved with him was to get closer to power. He had gone on a few dates with a nice girl named Samantha who was the duchess from some country with a name he could barely pronounce. That little affair ended when she ended up being imprisoned for money laundering but she remained an enjoyable pen pal. He had one lunch date with a boy named Eric from his English class last month, but it was hard for either of them to feel normal when Clint was sitting one table behind them half glaring the entire time. So dating was not exactly a fruitful pursuit for him as of yet and that was all without mentioning the fact that David kept having dreams of large brown eyes and a familiar sunrise smile that he’d rather not dwell on. There was no way Patrick would ever see him as anything more than a friend and, eventually, an asset to protect. David tried not to feel too bitter about it all.</p><p>David polished off most of his second plate of hors d’oeuvers and was preparing to drown himself in the chocolate fountain when he noticed Patrick had finally arrived. He knew Patrick was coming of course; he’d even sent him a formal invitation with a rude drawing of a stick finger with a bulbous middle finger sticking up on the inside of the envelope because Patrick dared him to sneak into the printer’s office and do it. He hadn’t seen Patrick in person for a few weeks because Patrick had taken a trip with his father to somewhere he wasn’t allowed to tell David about apparently. When David asked him why, Patrick had smirked at him and told him if he told David, he’d have to kill him.</p><p>Little did David know he’d kill him anyway by looking devastatingly handsome in that sharp looking navy blazer. Patrick’s recent growth spurt helped him fill out the shoulders of the blazer perfectly and the crushed velvet was especially lovely in the ambient lighting of the ballroom. Patrick moved easily through the crowd with his eyes locked on David the entire time. His curly hair, which David was used to seeing untidy, was smoothed down with gel and when he was within arm’s reach, David could smell the woodsy notes of his cologne. For the first time in the near decade they’d known each other, David was at a loss for words. Fortunately, he was saved from the embarrassment of stammering about how good Patrick looked by Patrick himself stealing the last mozzarella stick directly off David’s plate. David shook off his shock at Patrick's appearance almost instantly, letting out a noise of protest as Patrick happily chewed on the pilfered treat.</p><p>“Excuse you, I was saving that one for last because it had the most perfect cheese to coating ratio!” David told him, unable to keep from smiling when Patrick offered him his uneaten half. David waved him off with a noise of disgust and Patrick grinned back at him before popping the other half into his mouth.</p><p>“This is some party, David. Your parents really went all out.” Patrick said with an impressed nod. His mother and father were in the center of the room being chatted up by the parents of all the royal children who had been invited from various countries David was supposed to care about. David wrinkled his nose, fiddling with the cuff links on his suit just to give his hands something to do. Why was he suddenly feeling nervous?</p><p>“I guess it’s nice, but I sort of miss our usual movie night and pizza, you know? It’s kind of loud in here.” As if on cue, the loud, fast pop music that had been playing transitioned into a slow ballad. Patrick smiled at him softly and gave David’s elbow a squeeze.</p><p>“Well we could go dance? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do at these sorts of things?” He asked, half shrugging as if to feign disinterest but David could see the light blush on Patrick’s cheeks. David’s palms felt sweaty too but he managed to make himself nod. Patrick took the plate out of David’s hand and set it on the buffet before leading him out onto the perimeter of the dance floor where they had some semblance of anonymity. David had expected it to feel awkward, dancing with his best friend, but his arms fit perfectly looped around Patrick’s neck and Patrick’s hands were warm and sure on his waist. They swayed along to the music, neither of them particularly great at dancing but well informed enough to not embarrass themselves. Patrick was smiling that soft, private sort of smile again and David had to glance away after a few moments under the intensity of it.</p><p>“Stop looking at me like that.” David grumbled and he felt Patrick’s low laugh almost before he heard it thanks to Patrick’s firm grip on his waist.</p><p>“Stop looking at you like what?” Patrick shot back, innocently batting his eyelashes at David. David rolled his eyes. This teasing felt familiar at least.</p><p>“Like, you know. Like you…um. Like you like me?” David finished lamely, the tips of ears burning at the childish accusation. He fully expected Patrick to call him out on it, but Patrick hummed in acknowledgement and pulled him in closer.</p><p>“But I do like you.” Patrick said, his voice earnest as David led them even farther away from the crowd on the dance floor. “I like you so much that I…” Patrick trailed off and a brief expression of sadness passed across his face. Before David could decipher what that look meant, Patrick’s smile had returned and he pulled David in closer. They were so close now that David’s entire world narrowed to the sway of their bodies and the affectionate gleam in Patrick’s eyes. David could no longer deny that maybe his dreams had been a subconscious attempt to prove that David had everything he needed right in front of him all along. David opened his mouth to say something, but the music changed to some horrible dance with choreography and the energy swiftly changed right along with it. David dropped his arms from around Patrick's neck quickly but Patrick caught one of his hands before they could begin their usual nervous fluttering. “Come on, let’s get some air.”</p><p>David felt better as soon as they stepped out into the garden. It was a perfect summer evening, warm but cool enough that it was a welcome relief from the stuffy ballroom. Patrick held his hand as he led David through the familiar gardens of the summer estate. David couldn’t help but feel something was finally falling into place when they settled on a stone bench blocked partially from view of the path by an enormous crepe myrtle. Patrick let go of his hand when they sat, and David felt a little silly because all he wanted was for Patrick to go back to holding his hand. Instead, Patrick smoothed out the wrinkles on his dress pants absently and kept his focus on the pathway they had just come from.</p><p>“So I’ve been thinking about what to get you for your birthday for a few weeks now.” Patrick admitted and David couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh that sounded high and forced even to his own ears. Patrick, being the wonderful friend he was, just grinned at him and gave David time to settle himself.</p><p>“That’s really sweet, Patrick, but you don’t have to get me anything. Really. I’m just glad you were able to make it.” Patrick finally tore his gaze away from the pathway and focused it fully on David. David’s breath nearly caught in his throat at the mixture of shock and unguarded affection that seemed to radiate from Patrick at the suggestion he’d miss David birthday.</p><p>“Of course I made it, David,” Patrick said quietly, his lip curling up in a bashful half smile. “I wouldn’t miss your birthday for the world.”</p><p>David smiled back at him and Patrick scooted closer to him on the bench. David's heart fluttered when Patrick settled his hand on David's knee. It was a fairly innocent gesture but David shivered as Patrick's smile grew more confident. </p><p>“I'm glad my company is enough of a present," Patrick teased, his eyes sparkling with laughter. "But I actually think I've landed on the perfect gift.” Patrick moved even closer and David felt himself drawn across the space between them.</p><p>“O-oh?” David stammered and Patrick smiled, though David could see he was still clearly nervous.</p><p>“Close your eyes, David, and I’ll get it for you.” David closed his eyes and held out his hands and suddenly Patrick’s lips were pressed against his. The kiss was achingly soft, chaste by comparison to some of the kisses David had experienced, but the fact that it was Patrick made David’s heart soar. David brought his hand up to deepen the kiss but all too quickly, Patrick was already pulling away. David opened his eyes, expecting to see a smile, but Patrick’s eyes were locked on the path again and he looked mildly ill. David turned and followed his gaze and noticed Clint standing several yards away with his arms crossed. David had seen that look once before, on his first and last date with Eric.</p><p>“Patrick. Time to go home. Say good night.” Clint’s voice was the iciest David had ever heard it and Patrick’s shoulders sank as they both watched Clint walk back toward the ballroom. Patrick stood immediately and before David could say anything, Patrick pulled him into a nearly bone crushing hug.</p><p>“Happy birthday, David. Please write to me. And don't...um, don't forget me?” Patrick breathed against the shell of his ear. David's head was spinning at the odd statement but he nodded and squeezed Patrick back. Patrick pulled away and pressed a quick kiss to David’s cheek before turning to follow after his father. David felt all at once elated and worried about the sudden turn of events of the evening. He brushed his fingers against his lips and tried desperately to commit every bit of their kiss to memory. He never wanted to forget his first kiss with Patrick.</p>
<hr/><p>When David woke up the next morning, Ivan was at his door waiting for David in Clint’s place. David tried for the better part of the week to get in contact with Patrick, but it seemed Ivan was always there, redirecting David on to some other task, or Alexis needed him to send her a new passport or his mother wanted his opinion on new drapes for the formal dining room. David wasn’t stupid and he knew something was wrong, but no one seemed to be willing to tell him what exactly. Clint returned a week later with an explanation.</p><p>“Military school?! That’s…Patrick didn’t do anything wrong, Clint!” David cried. He could barely wrap his head around the situation. How could Patrick kissing him result in this?</p><p>“It’s not about doing anything wrong, your highness.” Clint said but David recognized that tone, gentle but firm and only ever used when he was doing something on orders from the king. David narrowed his eyes.</p><p>“Did my father do this? Is that why this happened so quickly? Is that why no one would let me talk to Patrick all week?” Clint’s neutral expression gave nothing away but David burned with anger. This seemed exactly like the sort of thing his father would do, shifting people around like they were chess pieces as he saw fit. David kicked over his desk chair in frustration as Clint stood stock-still, calm as always in the face of David’s darker moods. David whirled around to face him; an accusatory finger raised. “I order you to tell me!” Clint didn’t even flinch.</p><p>“I’m sorry, my prince, but you don’t have the authority to give that order.” David growled in frustration, all at once pleased and upset to have his suspicion confirmed.</p><p>“My father had no right to do this and how could you let him? Patrick is your son! You could’ve said no!” David screeched, his voice shrill and more desperate than he intended. A small flicker of pain flashed across Clint’s face before the mask of calm fell into place once more. David knew he’d crossed a line, but he felt wild with grief for the loss of his friend. He righted the chair and threw himself into it, burying his face in his hands. For the first time in his life, David felt completely helpless and the hot sting of tears trickled down his face as he considered a life without his best friend.</p><p>“I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” David choked out and after a few moments Clint’s strong hand settled on his shoulder.</p><p>“David, I’m very sorry you’re hurting right now, but you should know this was always the plan.” Clint said, squeezing David shoulder comfortingly like he had done when David was younger. “Brewer men have trained at the Academy since it was founded, and Patrick is no different. He’d already finished his preliminary training assessment with me and he was more than ready to go. Both your father and I thought it was time and Patrick agreed with us. He settled his affairs this week and he started classes yesterday.” David cried harder at that, his breath coming in stuttering hiccups as reality sank in. Patrick had told him once he went to the Academy, he'd be there for a long time and no visitors outside of immediate family were allowed. Clint continued to rub David's back as David cried for what felt like hours. When David was finally able to get himself under control, he looked up at Clint.</p><p>“I’m sorry.” David said softly and Clint gave his shoulder one final squeeze before stepping back.</p><p>“Consider it forgotten. How about I go get us a snack? Something greasy and very bad for us.” David smiled as best he could and nodded and Clint left. David watched him go and when he stood to push the desk chair in, he noticed an address with Patrick’s name on it in Clint’s handwriting.</p><p>Patrick’s first letter arrived in response to David’s, offering no explanation of his own for his sudden departure and no mention of the kiss that sealed his fate, but his words still made David feel warm. He complained about his early morning watch schedule and how dessert in the cafeteria translated to baked apples pretty much every day of the week. He seemed in good spirits despite the abrupt upending of his life and David stared at the pictures Patrick enclosed each night before he went to bed. The first was a picture that was obviously taken for some sort of military ID. Patrick’s beautifully curly hair had been shorn close to his head and his serious expression made him look older and slightly dangerous. The man in that picture was nearly unrecognizable to David and it made David's heart ache despite knowing Patrick had wanted this, had wanted to embrace his future. Patrick remedied the serious picture with a silly picture of himself in what looked like a dorm room wearing a baseball hat backwards while he read a book hanging upside down off his bed. It made David smile. Patrick never did learn how to sit down properly anywhere. The third picture, however, was David’s favorite, a picture of Patrick taken in the early morning light against a stone wall, dressed in a very plain looking military uniform and clearly on the dreaded early morning watch. In that picture, he was smiling at the camera like he knew he’d be looking right at David. On the back of the picture, written in very small but neat handwriting, Patrick wrote, "The sunrise here is almost as beautiful as you. Almost. - P"</p><p>David tucked that picture under his pillow for safekeeping.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to all who have subscribed thus far and to all who have given kudos and especially to those who have commented. It's never fun to feel like you're writing into the void so if you like something you've read in this fic, please do let me know! Your kind words keep me going. 💕</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>David starts his own formal training and learns to take on the world without Patrick (or his family) by his side.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First off, thank you so much for the incredible response to the last chapter especially. Each and every comment was and is so appreciated even if I am very much behind on responding, please know that! </p><p>This chapter fought me quite a bit so I now bestow it upon you for better or worse. We get a rating bump for talk of drugs, sex, alcohol, <s>and rock and roll</s> etc.  Also Thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Olive31/pseuds/Olive31">Olive31</a> for the quick once over to make sure I didn't go off the rails too badly.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In the months to come, something shifted within David. He had once looked forward to learning how he would one day rule a country, but now it seemed like a burden. He was restless and anxious, and he felt like everywhere he went, people were looking at him and judging him even though Alexis constantly assured him they weren't whenever she happened to be passing through the kingdom. He had taken to being very short with his personal staff and guards, even Clint, and although David knew he was unpleasant to be around, he couldn’t help his bitterness. Despite his dark mood, his life and royal training moved forward. Ray tutored him in diplomacy, which involved a lot of pictures of people he really didn’t care about and a lot of Ray gossiping with him about the aforementioned people he didn’t care about. His mother started meeting with him twice a week to discuss what she called “royal presentation and effervescence”, which he actually liked. He got to buy new clothes for his public appearances with wild abandon while his mother sipped her rum spiked tea and regaled him with tales from her theater days in the wilds of North America.</p><p>David was required to meet with his father once a week as part of his training and he tried not to resent him for his hand in Patrick’s departure. David had often thought that if Johnny Rose were not a King, he’d be running a corporation to international acclaim. His father was methodical and precise, always working toward some unseen goal no matter what it cost him. Mostly, it had cost him any semblance of family life and while David knew his parents clearly loved each other, some days he wondered if they were even aware they had children. Unfortunately for David, his father picked now of all times to try and bond with him. Apparently, he hadn’t noticed the turbulent personality adjustment his first born had undergone in the months following his sixteenth birthday. His father was always smiling when David stepped into his study and settled in the chair across from him for their weekly meeting like he actually enjoyed trying to pry words out of David for an hour.</p><p>“And Ray, he’s given you the history of the Sands family already, right? It’s important you understand the way the power shifts in that dynasty as they are one of our bordering nations. They seem to always have a long-lost relative step in to take the throne in that country.” His father said with a hearty chuckle. He was wearing his typical bespoke suit in shades of navy and burgundy and his crown glinted in the morning light of the royal study. David rolled his eyes and unfolded his arms.</p><p>“Yep. Newest long lost relative lives in London currently and will return home to take the throne once he turns twenty-one.” David said, examining his nails. “He plays the cello and runs some horse charity or something lame like that.” His father sighed and stood from his chair. David noticed his desk, while tidy, was still covered in paperwork with words like “tax reform” and “land allotment” and there were stacks of paperwork assigned to specific members of the royal advisory council. The largest stack by far was allotted to Eli, his father’s closest advisor. David had never felt comfortable around the man, even as a child. To this day, he still addressed David as “young prince” in a tone of voice that made it sound less like an endearment and more like David was the mud he'd accidentally stepped in with his custom dress shoes on.</p><p>“It’s not a horse charity, son. He runs an animal shelter that specializes in horses and cows and other large farm animals that most animal shelters can’t care for. It’s really quite something!” His father said with a smile as he leaned back on the edge of his desk. He crossed his arms and gave David an appraising look before sighing. “David, you’ve got to take all of this more seriously. I’m not going to be around forever, and while I believe you have what it takes to do this job, you have to want it.” David sunk down further in his chair, dragging the heel of his boot across the plush carpet, feeling pleased when it left a dent in the perfectly vacuumed flooring. </p><p>“I’m pretty sure you have no idea what I want.” David grumbled moodily. His father grew quiet at the statement and the atmosphere in the room became charged with tension when David fell silent too.</p><p>“Now what’s that supposed to mean? I’ve made sure you had everything you’ve wanted since you were born, David.” His father replied, his tone a little sharper but there was a very real edge of confusion that accompanied it that only served to further David’s anger. David stood from his chair and stalked over to the corner of the study to put distance between himself and his father. His father didn’t seem surprised at the action but when he moved to follow, David’s frustration came bubbling out before he could tamp it back down.</p><p>“You sent my only friend away to military school on my birthday and what, I’m supposed to act like everything's okay now?” David snapped and his father recoiled like he’d been burned. For a moment, the King stilled and regret flashed across his face before he could compose himself. Once he did, his father pointed an accusatory finger right back at him.</p><p>“Your duty is to learn to command the power of your birthright just as Patrick’s is to serve and protect the crown.” His tone left no room for argument and David felt the hot sting of tears gather in his eyes before he could quell them. He knew this was the sort of answer he’d get from his father, but it still hurt to hear it. His father scrubbed hand across his face, his fingers rubbing at his temples briefly before speaking again. “I’m sorry the normal order of things has upset you, son. But Patrick was given the choice to go and he took it. He wanted to serve, and I should think that you’d like to do your part in making sure he has a job to come back to someday.” When David said nothing in return, his father walked back around his desk. He pressed the button for the intercom, keeping his eyes on David as he did so.</p><p>“Raymond, Prince David is ready for your afternoon session now.” His father said in his usual pleasant professional tone, as though he hadn't just literally dismissed David and his broken heart. Ray chirped he’d be there shortly and the line went dead. His father settled back into his office chair and began to write something in a small leather-bound notebook, ignoring David who was still frozen in the corner. When Ray entered to collect David, his father offered him one final, slightly weary smile. “You can do this, son. You just have to try.”</p><p>David was still angry but the thought that Patrick had wanted to go managed to make him feel a little bit better about his part in everything. If Patrick was happy to start on his future, maybe David should try and embrace his own.  He started to actually take notes in his sessions with Ray and once he turned eighteen, he was allowed to sit in on royal advisory council meetings. He hated listening to Eli’s pompous speeches about how raising taxes on the poor towns on the edge of their borders would help boost the economy in the capital and how everyone on the advisory council seemed to only focus on issues pertaining to wealth and power. They almost never brought up the real problems plaguing the country like the drought in the North or the flu outbreak in the West. </p><p>David found himself sketching portraits to send to Patrick during these meetings. Patrick’s letters, while still heavily censored, were David’s escape from his royal duties. He loved hearing Patrick’s tales of his adventures, how he’d hiked in the mountains for two weeks only to discover he’d copied his map wrong and he was, ironically, a day late for his navigation exam. Or there was the letter in which Patrick described his self-imposed rivalry with his weapons instructor, Ms. Lee. David was pretty sure Patrick was exaggerating her referring to him only as the “chosen one” during class and giving him dirty looks whenever he asked a question. He’d even claimed that she had tripped him during his archery final so that his arrow hit a tree instead of the target, as impossible as that seemed.</p><p>No matter how outlandish though, Patrick’s musings and stories gave David hope that someday when Patrick did return, he’d at the very least get his friend back. In the quiet of his own bedroom at night, David would pull out the box containing Patrick’s letters and pictures and dream of what life would be like if Patrick were here to tell him the sweet things he wrote in person.</p><p>“<em>We watched your father’s speech last night and I couldn’t take my eyes off of you </em> .” Patrick wrote in one letter. Another contained a polaroid of Patrick in his swim trunks during what looked like a swim meet, looking achingly similar to the boy who had spent all his summers splashing through the low tides of the beach near the summer estate with David. The inscription read on the picture read, “<em>I’d swim across any ocean to get back to you</em>.” On David’s nineteenth birthday, Patrick's letter was long and winding like a country road. “<em>Sometimes at night, I can’t sleep because I know you’ll be in my dreams and if I join you, I might never want to wake up again. I miss you terribly.” </em> Patrick signed each of his letters with a heart and David hoped desperately Patrick meant it like David understood it. “<em>L</em><em>ove, Patrick” </em></p><p>David in turn sent Patrick sketches and letters and though he knew they were likely also censored, he wanted Patrick to know the depth of David’s affection. He'd was perhaps most proud of a sketch he'd drawn of Patrick in his uniform, looking stoic and strong even as he leaned against the dainty fence of a charming English garden with a sign that said <b>Private Property</b>. “<em>Would you pick a flower for me even still? </em> ” David wrote at the bottom right corner of the sketch before signing his name. Patrick’s next letter wasn’t a letter at all but rather contained a single daisy that had clearly been pressed carefully between the pages of a book and a post-it note that said “<em>Always </em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Five years to the day Patrick had left, the letters abruptly stopped coming. After two months with no word from Patrick, David began to panic and he pressed Clint for information even though it had done him no good to do so in the past. Clint, predictably, offered nothing but a “It’s above my authority, my prince.” David felt heartbroken, like he was losing Patrick for a second time. Now that he’d completed his royal training, he had little to do around the palace but wait around for the next state event. He thought of Alexis, who was off following some music festival around the world for the third time and he decided it was time for him to see the world too. He'd applied and promptly been accepted to NYU and made all the arrangements to live in the city on his own. His parents did not take the news lightly but it may not have helped that David waited until the night before his departure to bring it up at dinner. </p><p>“New York? David what on earth do they have in America that you can’t have right here, where you are needed?” Johnny asked, his eyebrows raised in alarm. His mother continued to push around a piece of broccoli on her plate with a serene smile on her face as though David hadn’t just dropped the bomb of moving a world away on them.</p><p>“Well first off, Mom’s from America so maybe I want to bond with my heritage?” David offered with a smirk. His mother swirled her wine glass, the burgundy liquid tipping dangerously close to the top before receding as she took a small sip.</p><p>“I’m descended from Canada actually, darling, but do continue on.” His father shot her a look of warning to which she simply shrugged. “I’m sorry, John, but you know it’s been awfully boring around here as of late without Alexis and her parties to keep us entertained.”</p><p>“Moira, don’t encourage the boy. This is nonsense. David, you should be here shadowing me so you can—”</p><p>“So I can what?” David glared at his father who glared right back at him. “I am sick and tired of everyone telling me what I should or shouldn’t do. It’s time I saw something beyond our borders. There’s a whole world out there I know nothing about.” His father sighed heavily which seemed to be his default mode for dealing with David.</p><p>“That’s what the royal advisory council is for. A few like-minded individuals coming together for the good of the many.” His father recited dutifully as though this grand bit of wisdom had somehow escaped David in his studies. </p><p>“Yeah I’m cooling on that too.” David shot back with a smirk. His mother snorted into her wine glass but his father’s eyes went wide in shock. “That’ll be the first thing I get rid of when I’m in charge.”</p><p>“Well it’s clear from this conversation that <em> that </em>is not something that will be happening until you grow up a little more.” His father intoned. David held his gaze for a moment before nodding. </p><p>“Glad that’s settled then. If you need me, make sure someone is either dead or dying before you call.” David called over his shoulder as he made his way out of the dining room and toward his rooms. He had a new life to start.</p>
<hr/><p>New York was thrilling. David loved everything about it. He loved how normal he felt there, being bumped into on the streets by strangers like he was an average college kid just trying to find his place in the big city. He took classes on art and music and writing and psychology, whatever held his attention. He became known at first for being the rich kid who threw the fun parties but once the American paparazzi figured out a rebellious prince was a freshman at NYU, the parties grew to include anyone who thought they had a shot at shacking up with real life royalty. David took advantage of the attention and the popularity and his parties quickly became a breeding ground for all sorts of drugs, alcohol, and sex. David felt liberated from the confines of NDAs and slept with anyone and everyone who fell into his bed. He ignored the fact that most of the men he slept with seemed to have a always have curly brown hair and large, brown eyes. David also found if he took the right combination of drugs, he could stay high and carefree while being functional enough to pass his classes. Once he’d gotten his degree, Alexis came to visit him often and the Roses became internationally known for being an entirely different kind of royal family.</p><p>He’d met Sebastien at the opening of his first gallery. David hadn’t been able to stop noticing him the entire evening despite the hundreds of guests who’d been invited to the reception. Royalty and socialites and starving artists mingled together and Sebastien walked among them all with the confidence of being the most powerful man in the room. David introduced himself with the usual, <em>prince of a foreign country, I own this whole place, nice to meet you</em>. Sebastien's lip had curled up in an approximation of a smile. </p><p>“I frankly don’t give a damn what country you’re the prince of, handsome.” Sebastien drawled, looking David up and down like he was not a prize to be won, but a prize he’d already earned. It sent a spark of heat down David’s spine. Sebastien drained his champagne flute and tossed it onto the tray of a passing waiter.  “So do you want to get out of here?”</p><p>The first two weeks with Sebastien were some of the happiest David could ever remember having. Sebastien was sharp tongued and intelligent with a keen eye for beauty. They spent a full day in Central Park just wandering around looking for ‘melancholy inspiration’, Sebastien with his camera and David with his sketchbook. They bought gyros from a cart when they got hungry and Sebastien told him that while he found validity in many art forms, photography helped him to capture the quiet pain of the world around him. David hailed him as a genius between kisses, feeling lucky to have met someone who knew what they wanted from the world and took it. It was refreshing. Sebastien ended the day with a memory card full of couples arguing and cracked pavement. David had ended the day with a rough sketch of Sebastien’s hands, holding tight to his camera just as he held David later that night in his bed.</p><p>Two and a half months later, Sebastien blindsided David by telling him he thought their time together had come to its natural conclusion. David begged him to stay, to let David be his muse for a while longer. Sebastien had held David’s face in his hands and told him they could fuck one more time if it would soften his departure. When David woke up the following morning, both Sebastien and his signet ring were gone. David didn’t see or hear from Sebastien again until he happened to pass a bodega magazine rack four months later and he caught sight of Sebastian on the cover of a popular fashion magazine wearing the ring.</p><p>David hated himself as he handed over his credit card to the cashier and immediately rifled through the magazine for word on what his ex was up to. David was not surprised in the least to see he was the subject of one of the sad pictures in the magazine feature. No one but David would recognize it was him from the angle and the distinct lack of clothing, but David burned with shame to be reduced to a stepping stone for Sebastien’s career when he thought he’d found something at least resembling real affection. He holed up in his apartment by himself for so long that his absence from the New York social scene drew Alexis from whatever Asiatic county she was partying too hard in to check on him.</p><p>David was more careful after Sebastien. He focused less on his bed partners and more on his art collecting. He opened another gallery and then another, keeping himself busy and relatively out of the spotlight, only returning home for the holidays to appease his parents. Every time he came home, his father would look at him forlornly and try to get David to commit to returning for good, but every time David managed to evade the commitment. He might not be happy in New York, but at least he had the freedom to do as he pleased and no one expected much from him. But, as with most things in David’s life so far, it did not last.</p><p>David’s phone ringing in the middle of the night was never a good sign. He dragged his arm across the nightstand and managed to grab his phone on the fourth try.</p><p>“It’s three in the morning!” David snapped at whoever felt like he needed to be up at this godforsaken hour. </p><p>“David!” Clint’s voice was frantic in a way David had never heard it and it immediately filled David with a sense of dread. “David, you need to come home. We have a situation. There’s a car waiting for you outside.” David stumbled out of bed, tripping to pull his shoes on quickly as he cradled the phone between his shoulder and his ear. </p><p>“Is everyone okay?” David asked as he started throwing sweaters into a bag. He waited eagerly for an answer as Clint seemed to consider his options. “Clint!” </p><p>“We believe there was an attempt on your father’s life today.” Clint finally managed. His words were slow and soothing, like how he’d spoken to David when he was a child and he’d had a nightmare. “He’s in surgery right now. Your security detail has been tasked with bringing you to us safely. I can’t say anything more than that now.” David’s thoughts raced as he tried to process what Clint was saying. His father may not be dad of the year but he was beloved by his people. He racked his brain for an explanation, perhaps some homegrown terrorist organization or political rival had risen to prominence in the near decade since David had been home for longer than two weeks. “I’ll see you when you get here.” Clint’s voice cut through David’s thoughts and David was pulled back into the conversation. </p><p>“Clint—what? I... you can’t just leave me with that and it be alright! Where are you? Is my mother safe? Alexis?” David cried. Clint went quiet again.</p><p>“I’m sorry, David but that’s all I can give you for now. Be safe, son.” The line went dead, and David let out a sob of frustration just as his security detail let themselves into his apartment. </p><p> </p><p>A few days later, David watched through bloodshot eyes as they passed the lewdest town sign he’d ever seen in his entire life. Maybe it was the long flight or the fact David hadn’t been able to reach his sister or mother or even Clint for days now to find out what the hell was going on, but David let out a laugh without really meaning to.</p><p>The town of Schitt’s Creek was hardly bigger than their summer estate. If David were being generous, he might call it a cute town to pass through. The main street contained little more than a quaint café, a dusty auto shop, a sad looking general store, and when the car carrying him to his destination pulled up to the motel where his mother and sister had supposedly been waiting for him, he was equal parts appalled and disgusted by its run-down appearance.</p><p>“Did Dad have to get almost assassinated in a place like this?” David grumbled to himself as he stepped out into the bright sunshine. His sleek black sunglasses were perched high on his nose and he knew the leather jacket was unseasonable for this time of year but one thing his mother had taught him was to use his clothes like armor. The jacket was the best thing in his wardrobe for when he wanted to appear in control. He wondered for a moment if they’d gotten the right address when he heard his mother’s shrieking coming from one of the rooms. David winced and headed for the front office. Best to face that after assessing the entire situation. </p><p>The office was just as dreary on the inside as it was on the outside and a young woman with long dark hair at the front desk idly turned the page of the book she was reading rather than greet her guest. David glanced around for Clint or perhaps one of the royal council advisors but of course none of them would ever be caught dead in a place like this. A clinking sound caught David’s attention and without looking up, the woman at the front desk tossed him a set of keys. He bobbled them for a moment but was pleased he’d managed to catch them with his hands and not his face. He scowled at the woman even though she remained focused on her book. </p><p>“Welcome to the Schitt’s Creek Motel, your holiness. Room eight. Have a pleasant stay.” The woman said in a dry voice. David blinked back at her in confusion and when enough time had passed, she eventually looked up at him with one raised eyebrow. David crossed his arms and stalked over to the desk. </p><p>“Um, okay. Hi there—” He looked down at her name tag. “<em>S</em><em>tevie</em>. I’m not here to stay, I’m just here to bring my mother and sister home.” David attempted his most charming smile but it had no effect on Stevie. She stared back at him uneasily.</p><p>“Okay so you haven’t been in the loop, like, at all, have you?” She said slowly and David shook his head.  </p><p>“Obviously not or I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you, now would I?” David snapped, getting more irritable as the conversation seemed to drag on. “Seeing as no one has told me anything concrete for days now, would you care to enlighten me?” Stevie bit her lip and seemed to search his face for something before apparently deciding to get involved. With a tilt of her head, she motioned for him to step behind the desk. Her fingers tapped loudly over the keys on her keyboard. “We’re like one step above dial-up here, sorry.” Stevie said with a shrug as the webpage slowly loaded. After what seemed like ages, the website for the capital newspaper popped up with a bold headline and a picture of their last family portrait.  </p><p>
  <b>Royal Family Missing. Royal Council Advisor Eli Singleton lays claim to the throne.</b>
</p><p>David’s heart sank. Stevie slid the room keys across the counter.</p><p>“Sorry you had to find out like this. Welcome home?” Stevie said, her voice far more gentle than it had been when their conversation had started. David picked up the keys and numbly made his way to his mother’s motel room. Welcome home indeed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>(I'm sorry in advance for another cliffhanger. I promise next week will make the sad times worth it! ❤️)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Roses get acclimated to Schitt's Creek while they await word of their future and an old friend returns.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm sorry for the delay with this chapter. It's been snowing nonstop since yesterday morning and so I've been anxious about my power going out but hopefully the extra long chapter makes up for the delay.</p>
<p>Admittedly, I glazed over a lot of the Roses time in Schitt's Creek as I imagine much of it plays out the same way as it did on the show and while it would be fun to go through two years worth of character development, this is primarily a story about David and Patrick. Headcanons will be freely given as asked but other than that, I'm probably going to leave it as is.</p>
<p>Thank you to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/thescholasticskipper/pseuds/thescholasticskipper">thescholasticskipper</a> for the once over on this when my brain got tired of rereading my own words. ❤️</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>David spent a lot of his first month in Schitt’s Creek reconsidering his entire life up until that moment. He’d wake up in the morning in the motel room he shared with his sister in his cramped little twin bed and stare up at the water-stained ceiling for an hour just to bring his body back to reality. He’d quickly learned upon his arrival that Schitt’s Creek was so remote that it was difficult for them to make contact with the outside world, let alone have the outside world contact them back. Internet service was slow at best and while texting and phone calls seemed to work within the town, the landline at the café was by far the most stable connection to call outside of Schitt’s Creek. To make matters worse, being that they were all ‘missing’, all their accounts had been frozen and every asset they’d left behind remained in its place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The short version David had finally wheedled out of his mother as to why his father had come to Schitt’s Creek in the first place was just as bizarre as the town itself. His father had decided to personally answer the thousandth request of the mayor of the town for a private meeting with the King. After clearing the trip with the royal advisory council, his father had made the journey with the bare minimum security detail and entourage. When they arrived, it turned out the meeting was just to try and establish Schitt’s Creek as a tourist destination to help boost local revenue as a place that even royalty visited. His father had rolled his eyes but since he’d traveled such a long way from home, he honored the meeting and even had lunch with the local town council. Things were just wrapping up when a lone gunman had shot through the window of the café, hitting his father in the shoulder and had nearly succeeded in putting Schitt’s Creek on the map for an entirely different reason.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thanks to Clint and, ironically, the mayor’s quick actions, his father was rushed to a local hospital and the surgery had been extremely successful. The only damage sustained was a small scar where the bullet had entered but David would never forget the way his father looked sleeping in his hospital bed, pale and fragile, like a good strong wind would blow him over. He’d gone by himself that first day after dropping off his bags because he couldn’t pull his mother from the closet she’d locked herself in. His father was clad only in a hospital gown and his wedding ring which David couldn’t help but smile at as he settled into the chair to wait out his father’s nap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t have to wait long and when his father opened his eyes and saw David in the corner, his whole face crumpled. David was on his feet immediately and although they’d never had a particularly affectionate relationship, he clutched his father’s good shoulder and wept like a child. All the loneliness and resentment David had carried seemed to slip away the longer he cried. There was a sharp inhalation and then he felt his father’s other hand pat the back of his head and it made David cry even harder. Eventually, David remembered he was here to fix things, not make things worse, and he fell back in his chair. His father’s eyes were red rimmed too and, for once, he seemed at a loss for words. He opened his mouth and closed it several times though his expression of joy never wavered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glad you’re here, son.” His father managed after a few minutes of silence and although David felt like crying all over again, he nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too, Dad. Me too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His father was released from the hospital ten days later with a strict recovery regimen that involved a host of medications and daily walks, but the most important thing was all four Roses were reunited once more. His mother spent less and less time in the closet and more time tending to his father. Once he was sure the King was not about to pass on them, Clint returned to the capital to assess the situation and give them an idea of when they could return to their old lives.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When David offered to go with him, Clint immediately shot him down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Absolutely not. One good thing about being out here in the middle of nowhere is that it keeps you all safe until Eli can be apprehended.” Clint said, shoving his duffle bag into the backseat of a car he’d had to borrow from one of the locals. “I have it on good authority that our spies have been working undercover for quite some time now on a deep investigation involving Eli and other key members of the royal advisory council. If we play this smart, you’ll all be able to return to the capital in a year or less with the good parts of our government still intact.” Clint closed the car door and turned to fix David with a fond look David wasn’t entirely sure he deserved. “We’ll set things right, my prince. Take care of your family and whatever you do, don’t leave Schitt’s Creek.” Clint patted him on the shoulder and tucked himself into the driver’s seat. David was left ruminating over Clint's words as he watched the car pull out onto the dusty street and drive out of sight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not leaving Schitt’s Creek meant no running back to New York, no running back to even their most remote residences, and none of them were permitted to have contact with anyone outside of Schitt’s Creek until the royal guard could confirm they weren’t aligned with Eli. So, reluctantly, the Roses settled in for the long haul. Once he was fully recovered, his father began meeting with the town council. He’d seemed to develop somewhat of a rapport with the mayor, a bumbling man by the name of Roland Schitt who had started to think of himself as the King’s best friend. Roland would tell anyone who would listen how he’d saved the King’s life while his father would roll his eyes and try to change the subject to anything else. His mother too, albeit somewhat begrudgingly, started singing with the local women’s acapella group called the Jazzagals. Even Alexis had found her place in the town when she started working at the front desk of the veterinary clinic, which she’d said was absolutely not just so she could hook up with the cute veterinarian running the clinic, </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Don’t be a dick, David. I am going through something right now!’</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone seemed to have started carving out a life for themselves in the town whereas David’s days were pretty much relegated to bothering Stevie and journaling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know you are free to leave the motel office at any time.” Stevie intoned from behind the desk. David flipped a page in his magazine. It said it was the July 1987 issue but that just made it vintage and therefore interesting in David’s book. Plus, he’d already beaten his high score in Tetris twice that morning. Of all the people in Schitt’s Creek David had come to know, David found Stevie by far to be the most interesting. Stevie’s sarcasm toward David only served to make David want to learn more about her. It also did not hurt that she was gorgeous in a casual way that made you nearly forget it thanks to the sardonic tone and the ever-present eye rolling. David flashed her a grim smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And go where? The café? My room? There’s only so many times a day I can write anguished journal entries for some future historian to speculate on. Otherwise, they get repetitive.” Stevie snorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean you don’t actually do anything, so I imagine they are all pretty boring anyway,” she shot back and David had to admit she wasn’t wrong. “But if they do make a movie of this very exciting time in your life, I want Nicole Kidman to play me.” David sunk back further into the couch and affectionately flipped her the bird. He did not want to think about this chapter in the movie of his life and besides, he was sure things would be back to normal before the summer was even over anyway.</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>The Roses spent nearly two years in Schitt’s Creek before Clint returned for them. David and Stevie fell into bed together then out of bed together and then eventually made their way into a friendship David feels just as strongly for as he’d felt for his childhood friendship with Patrick. Alexis ended up applying to Elmdale Community College after things got messy with the veterinarian. She took all her courses online to avoid detection by the media and earned her degree in a cool four months. Her first project, she declared, would be to right their public image when things returned to normal. Surprisingly, David found he believed in her ability to do that after spending the past two years getting to know her better than he ever had when they were kids. His mother’s local arts initiative was nearly on the border of exposing the royal family’s whereabouts as young actors and actresses from all over the region flocked to Schitt’s Creek to learn about acting from a very eccentric director who looked a lot like their long-lost Queen. His father had filled a vacancy on council and had gotten funding to help Stevie restore the motel to its former…well to some sort of livability.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>David himself had taken over the old general store when it had gone under, using the savings he'd put aside from his job at the now defunct Blouse Barn. He'd bartered with local artisans and used negotiation skills from a lifetime ago to make Rose Apothecary into a bustling little store that sold all the things he'd come to really appreciate. It was the hardest David had ever worked but he felt a sort of peace in his new life in Schitt's Creek. He loved eating dinner with his family at their little booth in the café each night and going out for drinks with Stevie at the end of a long day. He loved helping the people of their strange little town look and feel their best, recommending books and candles and skin care products that he had lovingly selected for his humble store. It was not the life he’d thought he’d end up living, but it was a life David was proud he’d built on his own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps that was why when Clint did return, David felt unprepared to leave it all behind. Clint arrived in Schitt’s Creek, breathless with the details of a daring coup that worked in the shadows to gather enough evidence to prove Eli was the one who had sent the gunman after the King. They’d found out through the course of the investigation that the entire advisory council was full of corrupt advisors whose compliance had been bought by Eli with pilfered funds from the state treasury. Between the attempted assassination and misappropriation of government funds, the arrests had been swift and that was when the local papers were sent a recent picture of the royal family, safely hidden away in a little town until they could be reinstalled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is absolutely exquisite news, Clinton!” His mother cried, kissing Clint on either cheek before running off to go pack. His father slung an arm over Clint’s shoulder with a wide smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d say this calls for a promotion. Clint, I’d be honored if you’d become my personal guard.” Clint smiled and then cast an eye over at David who nodded and smiled in return. David knew his father would be safest with Clint at his side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The honor is mine. I’ll send word for a new guard for the heir tonight.” David resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He settled heavily into a chair while Clint stepped out of the motel room. His father beamed at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well David, I'm hoping you'll return to the palace with us before heading back to New York?" His father asked carefully, clearly trying to keep the hopeful tone out of his voice but failing. David kept his gaze on the non-descript painting on the wall so he wouldn’t have to look at his father’s face when he turned down his royal duties for a second time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"New York has nothing for me but I'm not sure I'm ready to let this place go." David admitted eventually. His father sat down on the bed and they sat in silence for a time. David was surprised when he chanced a look at his father that he was still smiling at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I understand. I've been thinking about that myself. This town is full of good hardworking people. Our people. That's why I've decided to ask the town council to become my new advisory council. We need people we can trust completely and there's no one I trust more than, ironically, the people of this little town in the middle of nowhere." David could see the belief his father had in the friends they had made in Schitt’s Creek and it made him happy to know he wasn’t the only one who was having a hard time reconciling his old life with the new one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's great, Dad, but my store..." David trailed off and his father moved to sit right next to him. His hand fell lightly on David’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"David. I know this is going to be an adjustment, but I've got a country to run. I want you by my side but I'm not going to push you either. It's going to take us a little time to wrap things up here anyway so just think about it, alright?" His father gave him one final pat on the shoulder and left David to his thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And truly David did think about it endlessly over the next week. He loved his store, but he also loved helping people. If he left Schitt's Creek, he would have the opportunity to help more people. He'd have the power and the money to do a lot more good than sell people some quality bath salts. On the other hand, David felt so tired. Tired of running around and longing for things he'd never find in life as a statesman. What a luxury it would be to retain his anonymity and live a quiet life among friends. David was lost in his thoughts as he sat behind the register, doodling away on a spare pad of receipts. The bell rang but he'd just thrown the new customer a wave without looking up. He had far too much on his mind to immediately go into selling mode. He liked to give people the time to browse and to understand the energy of the store before they asked their questions. The new arrival cleared his throat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Your highness?" A man's voice called not far from the doorway and David looked up and promptly sent his pen clattering to the floor. Patrick was standing inside his store. It had been fifteen years since he’d last seen Patrick in person, but David would recognize those eyes anywhere. He was dressed in the typical dark suits the security personnel at the palace always wore but Patrick filled it out better than anyone he’d ever seen. His hair was high and tight on the sides, but his curls now rested artfully sculpted on top. The five o’clock shadow was certainly a new addition but not an unpleasant one and David was pleased to note that although Patrick's shoulders had broadened nicely, David was still slightly taller than him. Patrick’s expression gave nothing away where he stood still at the door, his hands clasped in front of him as though he were waiting for something. Patrick sighed and David realized he was waiting for orders from </span>
  <em>
    <span>David</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “My name is—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know who you are, Patrick.” David choked out; his throat suddenly tight with emotion because Patrick was here in Schitt’s Creek. Patrick. “God, how could I ever forget…” Patrick twitched and ducked his head in acknowledgement. He looked uncomfortable and David trailed off into an awkward silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Patrick Brewer, at your service, your highness. I am here to fulfill my duties as your new guard.” Patrick rattled off the words as though he were dictating a report, clipped and precise. David hated it and when Patrick showed no signs of moving toward him, David slipped from behind the register to put himself in Patrick’s space. Patrick tracked his movements, but he regarded David evenly. “I’ve been tasked with returning with you to the motel to prepare for your imminent departure.” Patrick explained as David came to a halt in front of him. David crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him. Patrick’s face didn’t move but this close up, David watched as his eyes lit up ever so briefly at David’s outward show of force. Interesting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“On whose authority?” David asked, adding all the sarcasm he could manage into the sentence just to see if he could get Patrick to break through his professional routine. “My father said it was my choice.” Patrick titled his head slightly to the right but other than that, he remained calm and collected.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Apologies, my prince. I was told I was to protect the heir and the heir typically lives in the palace at the capital.” David narrowed his eyes and suddenly had to take a step back out of Patrick’s space to right himself. Of all the scenarios in which Patrick had come back into his life, this was not how David had envisioned their reunion. It felt like a loss and Patrick’s level headed demeanor only served to stoke the fire of David’s anger.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this really how this is going to go?” David half-shouted, his hands flying up as his frustration boiled over. “You walk back into my life after fifteen years and we’re supposed to what? Pretend we don’t even know each other?” Patrick frowned at David’s outburst but nodded, a short little jerk of his head as though he had to force himself to do it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I believe that’s best, your highness.” Before he could stop himself, David lifted his hand and slapped Patrick across the face. He immediately regretted it but Patrick didn’t even flinch. The only evidence David had even done anything was a slight red handprint blooming across Patrick’s cheek. There was a cooling cream the store carried that would help. David nearly reached out for a jar of the stuff to soothe the sting but then he thought better of it. With a frustrated huff, he flipped the sign to closed and stalked out of the store. He could hear Patrick following along behind him, so he spun on his heel and yelled back at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hope you brought some more of your lil’ suits, Brewer, because we’re staying in Schitt’s Creek!”</span>
</p><hr/>
<p>
  <span>Things felt very different once his family left. David found he missed the sound of Alexis’s soft, sleepy exhales at night and his afternoon walks with his mother and doing crossword puzzles with his father. The newfound sense of familial love and devotion nearly caught him by surprise when he walked to the café for breakfast that first morning by himself and started to order the usual for all of them. Twyla had given him a sympathetic smile, patted his hand, and then went off to fetch his coffee. David was midway through his eggs when the ever-present feeling of being watched felt like an intrusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No one is going to attack me in the middle of breakfast, you loser.” David huffed loudly enough for Patrick to hear him. “If you…you could come sit with me if that won’t interfere with your duties.” David stabbed a forkful of eggs so aggressively, he knocked them onto his pants. He’d looked down at the mess and then nearly had a heart attack when Patrick passed him a napkin from across the booth. “Holy shit! Do you make any sound when you move?” David snapped and the corner of Patrick’s mouth twitched up in what might pass for a smile in some very austere culture.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you’d like me to, I could, my prince.” Patrick said helpfully and David kicked him underneath the table. Patrick’s mouth twitched again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t call me that. I hated that when we were kids and I still hate it now. Oh wait, I forgot, I’m supposed to pretend none of that happened.” David muttered sarcastically. Patrick’s knuckles were nearly white where they gripped his mug of tea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could never forget you even if I tried.” Patrick whispered so softly David nearly missed it. His eyes seemed far livelier than they had yesterday, and David noticed a small red rose pin was now fixed to the lapel of his suit.  David recognized it immediately as Clint’s and decided right then and there that if they were going to be stuck here together, he might as well go for broke on their past.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then why did you stop writing to me?” David asked. Patrick’s near smile fell away almost as quickly as it had appeared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s…complicated.” Patrick said eventually. David shook his head and stood up from the table. Twyla could add it to his tab. Patrick stood too and followed dutifully behind David as he made his way across the street to the store. Two large boxes had been left on the doorstep and David immediately recognized them as the next shipment of books he’d ordered for the monthly book club the store hosted. David bent over the boxes and jammed his keys into the door. When he’d gotten the door unlocked, he turned around and Patrick was waiting a respectful few feet behind him. The little corner-lipped smile was nearly a half-smile at this point and David couldn’t tell if that made him happy or sad.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you’re going to insist on breathing down my neck all day, the least you could do is make yourself useful.” David said, gesturing to the boxes as he stepped over them. David knew he was being rude, but Patrick carried both boxes in without complaint and set them in the back without being told. When he was done, David handed him a broom and Patrick got to work sweeping the floors while David counted the money in the register. They each did their tasks in companionable silence and when Patrick finished the floors, he began dusting off the shelves while David followed behind reorganizing. It wasn’t like when Stevie came by under the guise of helping to make fun of him or when Alexis would pick up “tester” products in exchange for future PR services. Patrick seemed to intuit what needed to be done next and David even noticed he was humming to himself at one point. The song seemed familiar, but David couldn’t quite place it. By the time he’d gotten around to asking Patrick what it was, their first customers of the day were walking through the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It turned out it was a good thing Patrick was there to help because they were swamped all day. Now that word had gotten out that the royal family had been hiding in Schitt’s Creek, tourists had flocked to the little town and David spent the day smiling for pictures and signing autographs amid running the store. To his great surprise and relief, Patrick had jumped right in like he’d been working at the store from the beginning. He’d even heard Patrick upselling a group of giggly thirty somethings on the most expensive skin care line the store carried. By five o’clock, a tornado looked like it had hit the store, but the cash register was so full, David had to start stuffing bills and coins into the pouches he usually utilized when bringing money for the float from the bank. They’d cleaned up the store in relative silence and when they were finished, David grabbed a bottle of wine and one of the premade charcuterie boards he’d started selling at Stevie’s suggestion last month. Patrick eyed him warily, but David rolled his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? Like I’m going to tell on you for drinking on the job?” he teased as he pulled two chairs up and set them out across from each other at one of the emptier display tables. They could restock tomorrow at this rate. Patrick sat in the other chair and accepted the plastic cup of wine with a small smile when David handed it to him. David clinked his cup against Patrick’s. “Cheers to a successful day of work.” David closed his eyes to relish the taste of the absolutely fabulous merlot he’d chosen from the winery in Elm Valley, the notes of dark chocolate and raspberry mingling on his tongue. When he opened his eyes, he wasn’t surprised to find Patrick watching him.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Never got to drink wine when we played store as kids.” Patrick said and David’s heart clenched as the nostalgia washed over him; Patrick remembered that? “You’ve got something special here. I can see why you weren’t ready to leave.” David shoved a piece of cheese in his mouth in order to avoid blurting out anything silly. Patrick had lost his suit jacket and he’d unbuttoned the first few buttons on the blue button up he’d been wearing underneath. His sleeves were rolled up in a way that drew David’s gaze to his well-defined biceps. Patrick looked good under the dim lighting of the store, the gleam from the lights making shadows play across his features and making him appear softer in places. David was so distracted drinking in the sight of Patrick, he didn’t notice Patrick had moved his chair closer and now they were practically side by side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“David. I’m sorry I stopped writing to you. I didn’t really have a choice and there was no way I could’ve maintained my cover.” David blinked at him, his head spinning at the sudden shift in conversation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your cover? What do you mean cover? I thought you went to military school.” Patrick chuckled and took a long swig of wine before answering. He didn’t seem to be relishing the taste of the wine so much as using the alcohol as a means of distraction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something like that. I don’t regret it though because we never would’ve gotten Eli out if I hadn’t done what I did.” Patrick said and David knew there was a lot he wasn’t saying but the fact that he’d said anything at all was likely a risk to them both. David fiddled with his cup and then with the products within reach, straightening them to avoid looking at Patrick’s entirely too loud face. David hadn’t expected Patrick to open up to him so quickly with how he had been reintroduced to his life. He looked up and Patrick was even closer now. “And I’m sorry I came in all guns blazing the other day. When I’d read the briefing packet I just…I didn’t want to make this situation any worse for you. My number one priority at all times is keeping you safe.” David wanted to tell him he didn’t believe him, but Patrick was radiating an honest warmth that left David with no choice but to nod along.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something shifted between them that night and David felt more and more like he was getting the old Patrick back. They began taking their meals together at the café and Patrick made a point to try everything on the menu at least once. The day he’d ordered the fried catfish and immediately gagged, David had laughed so hard he cried. Patrick went for a run every morning before David was up and so he often opened the store for them, grinning behind the register with a joke about David’s impossible sleep schedule while he handed David his coffee. David learned that Patrick still had his guitar and sometimes after they’d close for the day, he’d bring it out and play while David worked on his designs for window displays. Patrick started to bring his own ideas to the store, a concept for an open mic night and grants they could apply for to hire a full-time staff so the store could continue to thrive even when David felt ready to leave. David was starting to realize his time in Schitt’s Creek was in fact limited, especially when Stevie left to start her new job as a sort of chief of staff for the palace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Apparently, your parents are completely lost without my guiding light.” Stevie had told David when she stopped by the store. Patrick was busy stocking a shelf and pretending not to eavesdrop. “Any idea when you’ll be leaving?” she asked, looking knowingly at David. She moved in closer and whispered, “You can’t keep playing house with him and expect no one to realize something is going on between you two when you do come back.” David narrowed his eyes at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing is ‘going on’ and I’m shocked and disgusted by your insinuation. Besides, technically I’m your boss now.” Stevie ignored his protests and snagged a toilet plunger from a display near the front. Patrick had insisted they would sell if David put them out and David had wanted to protest but then Patrick had winked at him when he’d asked David to compromise and David had forgotten how to breathe for a few moments. Stevie pointed it at David like a royal scepter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, just because you have prince money again doesn’t mean I have to listen to anything you say.” David flipped her off as she flounced out the door with the plunger over her shoulder. “Nice to see you again, Patrick. I’ll miss our chats!” she called as she left, and David rounded on Patrick.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve been chatting with Stevie? That’s never a good idea.” David warned and Patrick grinned at him. David was starting to regret introducing them, but it was bound to happen at some point. That would explain who Patrick was texting with the other day on his lunch break. He’d kept laughing and every time he did, it made butterflies erupt in David’s stomach like he was sixteen years old all over again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m allowed to talk with people. It doesn’t prevent me from doing my job.” Patrick said with a smug smile, crossing his arms. Patrick had embraced street clothes, and while his style was sadly limited to button downs and jeans, he still looked as put together in them as he did in his suits. David had to tamp down the urge to pull his shirt out from where it was tucked into his pants just to mess up that perfect image a little bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stevie’s not just people. She’s my best friend and I don’t like the idea of the two of you talking about me behind my back.” Patrick blinked at him owlishly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We would never, my prince.” David flipped him off too for good measure and there was that beautiful laugh again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Two weeks later, the final push to leave Schitt’s Creek arrived with a bang. Patrick had gone to the café to get them their morning drinks, so David was there when the mail arrived for once. David noticed the mailman was new but that hardly registered as an important detail.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have this package too. Where should I put it?” The mailman asked and David gestured to the display table. Patrick returned not even thirty seconds later, and as David looked to greet him, he watched as Patrick dropped both cups and raced toward the package.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Patrick! What—” Patrick scooped up the package and ran out the door with it. David was quick on his heels.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stand back.” Patrick yelled as he tossed the package out into the empty street. Patrick turned and tackled David to the ground, covering David’s body with his own. David watched in horror as the package connected with the ground and exploded with a thunderous bang, sending a fiery ball of chemicals up into the sky and setting off several car alarms in the process.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my god.” David breathed, heart racing as he stared at the smoking black crater where the package had exploded. Patrick pulled back from where he was cradling David’s head to check over his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Patrick asked, his eyes searching David’s face for any sign of harm. David nodded numbly and he wrapped his arms around Patrick to hug him close. Patrick hugged him back for a moment before moving them back inside the store and locking the door behind them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Patrick. Oh my god, that was—” Suddenly Patrick’s lips were on his and David felt an entirely different sort of adrenaline racing through his body. There was nothing chaste or sweet about the press of their lips together as Patrick shoved him up against the door. David readily parted his lips and Patrick licked into his mouth as though he was desperate to make sure David was really okay and the only way to do that was by kissing him breathless. David wrapped his arms around Patrick’s broad shoulders and pulled him in impossibly closer, making Patrick moan in response. David felt like he was about to pass out from sheer lust and he surged forward just as Patrick pulled back with a shaky laugh. He held David’s face between his hands and David felt mesmerized by the look of absolute joy on Patrick’s handsome face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been waiting fifteen years to do that again.” Patrick breathed out, pressing his forehead to David’s with an intimacy that filled David with warmth. David kissed him again, this time sweet and gentle and full of all the things he hadn’t dared let himself feel since Patrick had come back into his life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, same.” Patrick grinned at him and dragged their noses together gently and god why hadn’t they been doing this weeks ago?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know this is a terrible idea but I’m tired of pretending like you’re not my entire universe, David.” Patrick said quietly, as if the words had been on the tip of his tongue for days and days, honest and sure. David tilted his head back, overwhelmed but thrilled all at once. Although his mind was clanging alarm bells in agreement with Patrick’s assessment, David had spent most of his life wanting nothing more than to have Patrick at his side. And now Patrick had kissed him for the second time and David felt so full he could burst. Every version of Patrick from the curly haired little boy who had handed him a dandelion like it was the most beautiful flower in the world to the man who had just saved his life was David’s to have if he’d just take the risk. Patrick’s smile dropped slightly. “David? Say something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck it.” David growled, slamming their lips back together. He’d sort out the details later. Right now, they had fifteen years’ worth of kisses to catch up on.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh, I nearly forgot, I changed my username! I'm still the same subitodolcediva you knew, just with a fresh new name both here and on <a href="https://asoftplacetoland26.tumblr.com">tumblr</a>. Felt like it was time. 💕</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>David and Patrick take their relationship to the next level when granted a night of privacy at Stevie's.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Note the rating jump for this chapter from a cute lil M to a big ol' capital E. 😅</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It turns out David was very motivated to do things when the completion of said things earned him a kiss from Patrick. Two days after a kiss that had been years in the making (and then many, many follow up kisses in the backroom just to make sure they were all real), David was deep in a pile of sweaters packing up his life in Schitt’s Creek. Each time a sweater went into a suitcase, Patrick rewarded him with a kiss so gentle it made David want to cry.</p><p>“You’re going to have to get better at hiding that smitten look when we get back to the capital.” Patrick told him when he pulled back from their latest kiss, his smirk far too smug for David’s liking. David was keenly aware he’d allow Patrick to get away with most things; It just came with the territory of having a face that cute. David rolled his eyes for appearances sake as he reached for another sweater and began to fold it.</p><p>“Who says I have to hide it? What happens if I don’t?” David mused but Patrick shook his quickly shook his head.</p><p>“Out of the question, David. C’mon you haven’t been gone that long that you’ve forgotten the rules of succession. You are far too close to your coronation for you to formally be...um, courting anyone,” David couldn’t help but snicker at the scrunched look of disgust on Patrick’s face. “And as for me, I’d absolutely lose my job for being compromised and likely have to go very far away for a very long time. Again.” David’s heart sank. There was no way he’d lose Patrick again. He couldn’t bare it.</p><p>“Well, we don’t want that.” David managed, hoping to keep his tone light but he knew from Patrick’s face he hadn’t managed it. Patrick cupped his cheek and David leaned into the touch briefly as he shooed the awful thought of losing Patrick away.</p><p>“Exactly." Patrick's tone was just as soothing as his touch, warm and intimate. "I want us to be together but until we can figure out a way around all of that, it’s best we just keep it under wraps.”</p><p>David nodded and bent down to toss a pair of shoes into the trunk with the latest sweater, puckering his lips for another kiss. Patrick gave it to him, of course, a kiss as soft as a wispy cloud drifting through a summer sky. “See, there it is again." Patrick cried, laughing at little when David covered his face with his hands. "How are we supposed to convince anyone you’re still Mr. Moody Bachelor Prince when you do that with your face?” David dramatically flopped onto the bed and tried not to giggle. He was just too happy right now to worry too much about what people might think of how he presented himself He rolled onto his back and craned his neck to watch Patrick where he sat on Alexis’s old bed.</p><p>“Relax. I haven’t really been in the public eye in this country for a decade. They don’t remember what my demeanor was like.” Patrick sighed and reached down to rifle through his messenger bag for a moment before tossing a manilla file folder with the label <strong>D.R. Ages 18-28 </strong>onto David’s stomach. David pressed his hands to it and opened it to find years’ worth of pictures of him scowling at the camera like it had personally wronged him. “Alright well it’s not like you were supposed to have photographic evidence.” David held the file back out to Patrick but when Patrick went to take it, he held on with both hands. “Wait. Why do you have this file? Did they give it to you?” Patrick blushed.</p><p>“I…I may have been keeping a file for purely academic purposes.” Patrick eventually managed and David tugged the file back to him to rifle through Patrick’s notes on him, but Patrick did some freaky spy maneuver with his hand and suddenly the file was back in the bag and David was in Patrick’s lap on the other bed.</p><p>“How did you—” Another kiss, this one far more intense than any of the rest and David decided that snooping through the file was a job for another day. Patrick kissed David with the same singular focus he placed on everything he did. David could feel the strength in Patrick’s hands as they stroked reverently down his back and he arched into the touch. Patrick moved backward until they were lying horizontally in the bed all while managing to keep his lips on David’s. They hadn’t done much more than kiss, but David could already tell what kind of lover Patrick would be like. Firm but kind and oh so generous. David fanned his fingers out across Patrick’s chest and spent a little time appreciating the hidden muscle beneath his button down. He was already mourning the loss of Patrick in his casual clothes, especially the thin white t-shirts he wore at night to bed that always managed to show off the breadth of his pecs and peaked nipples that David couldn’t help but want to bite.</p><p>“If we keep this up, I’m going to ruin my jeans.” Patrick said with a laugh and David bit at his lip.</p><p>“I mean I’m not going to complain about that. I can buy you new jeans. I’ll buy you a whole closet full of jeans. A room full of jeans. An entire palace wing filled with mid-range denim on every surface. Whatever you want.” David breathed. Patrick’s eyes sparkled with a kind of warmth David was still trying to get used to. He craved it almost more than the kisses. Patrick wrapped his arms tightly around David’s waist and David absolutely did not let out a squeak of surprised arousal.</p><p>“Whatever I want?” Patrick parroted back, his voice a low rumble as he scraped his teeth along the shell of David’s ear. David’s breath came in desperate pants as Patrick kissed his way as far down David’s neck as far as he could manage and then back up again. Patrick made sure he had David’s full attention. “I want you to finish packing and then you and I are making a plan for how this will work. In my line of work, I've been taught it's always best to make a plan with plenty of contingencies.” David sighed.</p><p>“Ugh, Patrick can’t we go back to making out?” David couldn’t keep the whine out of his voice if he tried. Patrick shrugged.</p><p>“Make it part of the plan and I’m yours.”</p><p>David grinned. "Deal."</p><p>Patrick made them talk about it over dinner at the café that night since they would be leaving the next morning for the capital. He clearly chose the venue mostly because being in public would prevent David from distracting him with kisses and also because David was much more amenable to tough conversations when presented with a plate of fried food. David dunked a french fry in ketchup while Patrick prepared his notes. He was dressed in a simple blue blazer and while David was, admittedly, looking forward to the return of Patrick’s tailored work suits, he enjoyed the soft blues Patrick favored whenever he was in his street clothes.</p><p>“So I believe moving forward, honesty is the best policy.” Patrick started, his palms held out and open. David chewed his fry thoughtfully for a moment before he blurted out one of the many fears roiling in his stomach.</p><p>“Have you not been honest with me up until now?” David watched as Patrick eyes flashed with an emotion David couldn’t quite put his finger on. Regret? Shame? Something else entirely?</p><p>“It’s not that I haven’t been honest, but we’ve lived very different lives for a very long time and there are some things in my past that I’m just not ready, or really able, to discuss yet,” Patrick shifted slightly in his seat and held out his hand. David took it immediately, his fingers lacing together with Patrick’s as easily as breathing. They fit well together and David couldn’t help but trace Patrick’s fingers. His hands were not soft and elegant like David's but covered in scars, rough patches, and calluses from weapons. It worried David to think of the horrible things Patrick had seen and maybe even done in the time they had spent apart, but Patrick was also the kindest person he’d ever met. He knew if there was something Patrick couldn't tell him, it was likely for a good reason.</p><p>“I think I understand. You don’t owe me your past any more than I owe you mine. I think focusing on what we have right here and now is good.” Patrick’s eyes lit up and he brought their joined hands together to kiss David’s knuckles. The brief tension that had settled over them subsided and they both went back to their meals. When they were finished, Patrick passed him another file that said <strong>Mission Briefing – Operation Kiss from A Rose</strong>. David raised an eyebrow at it and Patrick gave David a cheerful little salute.</p><p>“I thought you’d enjoy the title.” David opened the file to find a whole host of things. “Now I think the most important point is that whatever we do, we can’t do anything on the palace grounds. That’s the easiest way for to get caught if you remember, um, your birthday party.”</p><p>The file contained maps of the palace with overlays of the security cameras and shift times of the security and house staff. There was a list of locations for discreet dates around the city, a list of potential apartments for Patrick far enough away from the palace but not too far to cause suspicion. There was a twelve-page paper of suggested ways they could communicate that covered everything from burner phones to private email servers. The entire file was meticulous and organized in such a way that David knew Patrick had been thinking about this for a very long time. It was a relief to know Patrick was as into this as David was and David sat and basked in that happy thought for a moment. Patrick really, <em>really</em>, liked him and all the proof he needed was spread out before him in all its color coded and alphabetized glory.</p><p>“So you sitting in stony silence right now is sort of freaking me out.” Patrick said and David’s eyes snapped up to meet him. He leaned over the banquette and kissed Patrick fully on the mouth. When he pulled back, Patrick grinned at him so fondly it made David’s heart stutter in his chest.</p><p>“Now who has the smitten face?” David teased when he'd steadied his heart beat. Patrick retaliated by stealing a fry.  “I agree. No funny business on palace grounds. Now tell me more about private e-mail servers and how we’ll use them.”</p><p>By the time they finished talking, it was nearly midnight and they’d had to relocate to the store to finish up. It had been closed since the time of the bombing, but it would reopen in the coming days under new management. They’d chosen a team of locals and had given strict instructions as to how the store would be run in David’s absence. David would return from time to time and they had plans to open a second location in the capital so David could still maintain the store he'd worked so hard to build. David was grateful for all that Patrick had done to help him keep a part of his store even after he'd left but it would never be the same as the original store in Schitt’s Creek. He’d built it on his own and, in many ways, it brought Patrick back to him. David ran his fingers across the front display table lovingly. Patrick wrapped his arms around his waist, a comforting presence while David dealt with his own thoughts.</p><p>“You know as far as first dates go, I’d say we nailed it.” Patrick said, his voice silky smooth as his fingers toyed with the hem of David’s sweater. David turned and wrapped his arms around Patrick’s neck just as he leaned in for a kiss. David smiled into it; he couldn’t help it. Afterall, he’d just gone on the best first date of his life.</p><p>“Thank you for making this happen for us.” David whispered and Patrick’s eyes were bright as he took David by the hand and led him back to the motel one last time.</p>
<hr/><p>The papers had been alerted, of course, of David’s return to the palace but nothing in the world could have prepared him for the flood of literally hundreds of reporters and admirers that had swarmed the car the moment they’d arrived. Patrick actually had to bodily pick up a man who’d shoved a recorder in David’s face and if David weren’t so anxious to get out of the crush of people clamoring for a quote, he’d probably be a little turned on at the show of strength. They made it through the crowd thanks to Patrick’s quick maneuvering and David found himself relax just a bit walking through the doors of the palace. Everything looked basically as it had when he’d last visited except Stevie was at the top of the stairs waiting for him with an unimpressed look on her face.</p><p>“You know if you’d have showed up an hour earlier like I’d told you, you could’ve skipped all of that.” Stevie said, looking at both him and then Patrick up and down. David felt a little guilty for their late arrival but he’d really needed to make out with Patrick in his motel room one final time before the car ride to take off the edge. It wasn’t his fault that Patrick had bitten his lip to deepen the kiss and then they’d gotten distracted until the driver had knocked politely on the door. Stevie’s eyes focused in on Patrick a little too long for David’s comfort. “Ooh. What’s that?”</p><p>“What’s what?” Patrick asked, rolling his shoulders and trying to nonchalantly cover the very obvious hickey David could now clearly see in the bright lights of the grand entryway. Oh fuck.</p><p>“You got a little red, um…is that a bug bite? Or a… little mouth shaped sunburn?” Stevie glanced between David and Patrick and David watched her face flit from excited to nervous to annoyed to resigned in the span of five seconds. She turned to David first. “So you don’t plan on making my new job easy, do you?” Her voice carried her favored sarcastic tone but David knew she was happy for them. She was the closest thing David had to a best friend and it would be good to have a least one person on their side that they could trust.</p><p>“Nope.” David agreed, popping the ‘p’ while Patrick rubbed at his temples wearily. Stevie rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Fine. Patrick, concealer will work wonders on that sunburn. Want to take care of that while I have chat with his royal highness about professionalism in the workplace&gt;” Patrick nodded at her and quickly scurried off in the opposite direction. David watched him go with a sigh.</p><p>“Look Stevie—” Stevie held up her hand and David snapped his mouth shut, suddenly nervous he'd misread the situation.</p><p>“Save it. For the record, I like this for you, David.” Relief flooded through him and David pulled her into a hug without really thinking it through. Stevie patted him on the back only a little awkwardly before leaning into the hug.</p><p>“Just promise me you’ll be more careful.” Stevie whispered into his ear.</p><p>“I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>For the first few days, it was fairly easy for David to keep his promise to Stevie. With Alexis off in the US building her public relation empire, David’s father made sure David’s days were filled with activity. He seemed to always want David around to go over something or to suggest potential coronation dates.</p><p>It appeared Johnny was eager to step down as king. His time in Schitt’s Creek had reminded him of all the living he’d like to do and with Moira eager to return to the stage in some capacity, Johnny Rose found himself ready to turn to some of the business ideas he’d had over the years but had never had the time to nurture. He’d grown attached to the motel they’d stayed in and had started a government initiative to restore some of the historic hotels and motels around the capital city as a start but David knew he had an entire portfolio of business ideas. After all his father had done, David felt he deserved to follow where his ideas could take him.</p><p>Johnny had been king for well over forty years and while David still felt he had a lot to learn, being back home on a more permanent basis was a comfort to him he hadn’t expected. All of the training he’d endured as a teenager had finally started to kick in and David found him enjoying learning about how things had changed since they’d returned. The newly formed royal advisory council now consisted of a rotating group of advisors from every region. Currently the committee was a near carbon copy of the town council of Schitt’s Creek with Mayor Roland Schitt, Bob Currie, and Ronnie Lee all serving on the council. Ray had managed to not only survive but thrive during the coup and now served on the council as well. Patrick accompanied David to his first official meeting which was how David discovered Ronnie was Patrick’s old firearm instructor from his days at the Academy. Patrick had visibly paled when he’d entered the room and Ronnie’s eyes locked on him.</p><p>“So they finally let you have a real assignment, Brewer. Congratulations. Here I was sure you’d be undercover on a low-level mission in Siberia right now.” Ronnie looked Patrick up and down as Patrick stood stock still behind David as he always did when he was on duty. Patrick nodded politely.</p><p>“Ms. Lee. Always a pleasure to see you.” If David didn’t know Patrick as well as he did, he might not have noticed the crack in his voice on the word pleasure. Ronnie still clearly made him nervous and from the way she was still studying him, David could see why. They would have to be especially careful around her.</p><p>“I’ll bet.” She said dryly before turning to David. She gave him a once over before nodding her approval. “Great to have you with us today, Prince David.”</p><p>After Patrick’s run in with his former instructor, things started to get a little away from them. It became increasingly difficult for David and Patrick to continue to keep it professional when Patrick was on the clock. As David’s bodyguard, Patrick was pretty much at work whenever he was around David and the availability of empty broom closets, utility rooms, and guest rooms made it all too easy for them to slip inside and explore each other’s mouths until they felt like someone would be missing them. David decided it was time he started planning dates under the guise of his own bachelor prince travels. With the help of the newly required private jet, he took Patrick to Boston for a baseball game in hopes they would get to at least have some private time in a hotel room, but they’d only had privacy enough to make out in the bathroom a bit after the game before David had to return home for a last minute meeting with his father and the Danish foreign ambassador. They both were getting anxious to move forward in their physical relationship and as such, found it harder and harder to be careful.</p><p>So the first opportunity David got to have his mouth around Patrick’s cock, he’d done it in a walk-in closet in the guest bedroom the aforementioned Danish ambassador had just vacated earlier that morning. Patrick’s usual gentleness subsided the moment his cock hit the back of David’s throat and he’d threaded his fingers into David’s hair and pulled as he’d rocked his hips in and out. David loved the feeling of being used while Patrick continued to stare down at him lovingly.</p><p>“Fucking gorgeous on your knees for me, little prince.” Patrick said and David came in his pants when Patrick tugged on his hair and spilled down his throat. While David was never fond of pet names, he immediately liked any and all pet names Patrick assigned him because with Patrick, everything felt special and exciting. David was just fixing his hair back into place in the ensuite when there was a sharp knock on the door. Patrick’s eyes went wide as David motioned for him to slip into the closet. David opened the door and there was Stevie, arms crossed with one eyebrow raised at him like she knew exactly what he’d been up to.</p><p>“Good morning, Stevie. Anything I can help you with?” David asked breezily, leaning into the door frame to deter her from entering. Of course, David should have known better as she stepped right over his long legs and immediately went for the closet. “Oh there’s not anything you’d want in—” Stevie yanked the door open.</p><p>A pause.</p><p>“Patrick.” Stevie said in the most unamused voice David had ever heard. “I can see your shoes.” Patrick sighed and stepped out of the closet only to have Stevie smack him across the back of the head.</p><p>“Ow! There’s no need for violence.” Patrick cried, scowling at Stevie who scowled right back as she stomped over to the other door and locked the three of them inside before rounding on them both.</p><p>“I swear you two want to be caught.” Stevie hissed before shoving an accusatory figure at Patrick. “Don’t you have an apartment or something you can spirit your lover off too?” Patrick shrugged and David folded his arms across his chest because they were so not doing <em>lover.</em></p><p>“I’m working on it.” Patrick admitted the blush high on his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head. David moved to sit on the bench seat in front of the bed and attempted disassociate from the conversation. “Right now I’ve got a room that shares a wall with Ray who…really likes to chat. So that’s not an option.”</p><p>Stevie glanced between the two of them, eyes searching until she heaved a sigh and reached into her bag to produce a small silver key. She tossed it to Patrick who caught it without breaking eye contact. David tried to discreetly adjust himself in his pants.</p><p>“Fine. For the sake of my sanity, you can have my apartment for the night.” Stevie said, already moving to the door. David and Patrick stared at each other wide eyed.</p><p>“Well, this is a very generous offer.” David said, immediately suspicious. He gave Stevie a once over and tried to see if he’d noticed something different. In the time he’d known her, Stevie didn’t often do things just to be nice. He narrowed his eyes at her. “And where will you be?”</p><p>“I will be at the spa forgetting you exist for the hour I am on the massage table.” David noticed she seemed a little flustered by his question and then remembered three days ago he'd seen Stevie chatting with Jake, the palace's resident carpenter and his favorite hookup when he'd been home during his New York years.</p><p>“Ah I see a spa. Not hanging out with any of the palace staff then like…oh, I don’t know, Jake?” Stevie glared at him and opened her mouth to say something put Patrick pulled David up and tucked him under his arm enough to cover David’s mouth with his palm.</p><p>“This is a very generous offer and what David means to say is 'thank you'.” Patrick said brightly. Stevie rolled her eyes.</p><p>“Just get it out of your system. In the meantime, I’ll have Ray source some apartment listings.” David licked across Patrick’s palm just to be a brat and Patrick finally let him go, offering David a look so fond that David wanted to push him back on the bed just to knock it off his stupidly handsome face.</p><p>“Thank you, Stevie.” They said together as she opened the door, looked both ways, and then shooed them out</p><p>“Whatever.” She grumbled but when David turned to mouth her another silent 'thank you', she smiled.</p>
<hr/><p>They picked up takeout on their way to Stevie’s because all good date nights should include food in David’s opinion. Stevie’s apartment was on the opposite side of town in a nice discreet neighborhood and David was immediately charmed by the collection of succulents on the kitchen windowsill and the Sarah McLachlan poster hanging by Stevie’s bed. David stepped into the bathroom to freshen up and when he'd finished, he opened the door to find the kitchen had been transformed into a romantic scene. Patrick had set the table with a white tablecloth that had clearly been swiped from the palace laundry, a small bouquet of vibrant wildflowers, and a flickering candle. </p><p>“Your table, sir.” Patrick gestured grandly and David wanted to roll his eyes but he couldn’t bring himself to. He made his way over to the table and Patrick pulled out his chair for him. They ate straight from the takeout containers and in the middle of the meal, Patrick reached across the table to take hold of David’s hand. The casual touch made David’s heart do somersaults in his chest and even though it made it a little hard to finish eating one handed, David wasn’t about to let go. He hadn’t realized how desperate he’d been just to be with Patrick without worry and he basked in the normalcy of it all. Eating dinner with his boyfri—Patrick. Stevie had texted them both on their burners (how she’d found the numbers, David would never know) to let them know the bedding was new and meant to be thrown out when they were done because, in her words, ew. Stevie’s embarrassing texts aside, David knew tonight would be the night for more than making out or a quick blow job and he was ready for whatever Patrick wanted to give.</p><p>When they finished, Patrick cleared away the mess, offering David a kiss that was far too sensual considering David had just eaten chicken piccata with way too many capers and garlic in it.</p><p>“Why don’t you go make yourself comfortable and I’ll be right in.” Patrick murmured, his eyes flicking down to give David a look up and down that made him want to start stripping off his clothes immediately. David let out a shaky breath and nodded. He was proud when he only tripped a little on the small set of steps that led to the bed. Thanks to the open floor plan of the apartment, David could see Patrick in the kitchen, cleaning up the wine glasses they’d used. Tonight he wore a gorgeous black dress shirt that moved with him almost like a second skin, the bulge of his muscles clear as he’d scrubbed at the glass. David felt his cock twitch when Patrick leaned up to set the glasses back on the rack, he’d taken them from, his broad shoulders shifting as he completed the task. David wanted to watch him do it again only without the shirt. Patrick dried his hands off with a tea towel, glancing over at David with a smirk.</p><p>“Enjoying the show?” He asked and David blushed despite himself. Patrick set the towel down and made his way over to the bed at a slow pace, as though they had all night. Which, David mused, they did but couldn’t they move things along a little bit faster? David still had his legs tucked under him thinking when Patrick joined him on the opposite side of the bed. He leaned in to press a feather light kiss to David’s lips. “Look, David. I know this is the first privacy we’ve gotten in a while but I wanted you to know, we don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.” Patrick’s face was so sincere and fond that David could hardly bear it.</p><p>“What if I’m ready for everything?” David blurted before he could stop himself. Patrick looked briefly startled by David’s outburst. He fiddled with the small signet ring he always wore on his right ring finger. Not for the first time, David found himself the symbols on it: a large bird with a sword in one claw and a rose in the other posed mid flight. David never remembered Clint wearing a ring like that and it reminded David, once again, how many years they’d spent apart.</p><p>“David, I need to know what everything means because, well, this is all new to me.” Patrick admitted and David felt faint suddenly.</p><p>“Oh. Well I don’t mean everything then if this is, um, your first ah—” Good God how was he supposed to follow through with what he wanted for the evening if the words kept getting stuck in his throat. Patrick, mercifully, laughed. He cupped David’s face in his hands and his smile made David feel just a little less like an idiot.</p><p>“Not new like that. This isn't my first time.” Patrick said with a grin. “There were a few guys in school and there was a…a woman for a bit…” Patrick trailed off and David knew from the vacant stare that accompanied the mention of this mysterious woman that there was a story there, but he’d rather not hear it now if it meant spending a moment more of their precious privacy without Patrick’s lips against his. Patrick seemed to think the same thing because one moment he was next to David and the next David was flat on his back with Patrick pining him to the bed. <em>Yes</em>. “But I want this to be good for you.” Patrick breathed as he bent down to capture David’s lips in a bruising kiss. Patrick kissed him every time like it was the last time he’d ever get to do it. He licked into David’s mouth and David opened for him readily, lust coursing through his veins like a live wire. But it wasn’t just lust, he couldn’t boil what he felt for Patrick down to something as simple as sexual desire. David broke the kiss first because he needed Patrick to know that. He placed his hand on Patrick’s cheek, close to his mouth, and Patrick pressed another kiss to the tip of his thumb like he couldn’t help it.</p><p>“It’ll be good because it’s you.” David said, his voice cracking slightly on the good. Patrick immediately drew him in for another kiss only this one was somehow even hotter than the last. He could feel the hard line of Patrick’s cock pressed into his thigh even through multiple layers of clothing and how was it they were still fully clothed? David’s fingers scrambled for purchase on any one of the far too many buttons on Patrick’s shirt. He’d managed to get two unfastened before Patrick broke their kiss and quickly undid the rest. One poor button was yanked off in the process, flying off toward a darkened corner likely never to be seen again. David would have had more to say about the proper treatment of clothes but it was clear they were both a little eager and as Patrick dropped his shirt to the floor, David’s breath caught as he took in the expanse of smooth, pale skin before him. Years of training hadn’t exactly given Patrick washboard abs but any sort of bulk was actually pure muscle. Patrick’s arms in particular caught David's attention as he moved to touch the hem of David’s sweater. Patrick looked to him for approval and David nodded and allowed Patrick to strip his sweater off. Unlike his own shirt, Patrick folded the sweater neatly and set it on the bedside table.</p><p>“Absolutely gorgeous.” Patrick hummed, fanning his fingers out across David’s stomach. Patrick marked David with kisses, each one achingly tender as he made his way down David’s chest. The kisses were almost too random for David to follow, although many seemed to be targeted on his shoulders. He realized with a low swoop of affection in his stomach that Patrick was actually attempting to kiss each one of his freckles.</p><p>“<em>Patrick.</em>” David couldn’t help but moan when Patrick kissed a freckle that happened to be near one of his nipples and let his teeth graze against the hardening bud. Patrick glanced up at him long enough to wink before taking the nipple fully into his mouth and sucking hard. David could feel his cock start to leak and he was worried for a moment he’d come before they even managed to really do anything. Patrick licked and teased the nipple in his mouth while tweaking the other one between his fingers. For all that David enjoyed being teased, no one had ever done it like Patrick. He kept pausing to look up at David’s face, clearly watching for David’s reactions. Each time David moaned, Patrick would repeat whatever he’d done to elicit the moan. Patrick had said he wanted it to be good but this was already beyond what David felt he deserved. After what seemed like ages, he finally moved further down David’s chest all the way to the waistband of David’s jeans. He scratched his fingers lightly, almost reverently, through the trail of hair that lead all the way down to his cock and it made David involuntarily buck up into the light touch.</p><p>“I want to taste you.” Patrick’s voice rumbled so low David could practically feel it in his bones. “Tell me I can.” David slung an arm across his eyes but nodded. Looking at Patrick looking back up at him was almost too much already and so he let out a shocked yelp when Patrick pinched his hip. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt but David was used to sex hurting just a little. In fact, he actually preferred it that way but he didn’t think they were ready for all that tonight. It seemed Patrick was full of surprises.</p><p>“I want you to watch me, David. Watch as I take your cock for the first time.” David’s cock dribbled out more precome as Patrick mercifully pulled down his jeans and underwear in one efficient slide. His cock sprang back against his stomach, already wet and flushed an angry red. For all the teasing he’d done up until that point, Patrick was clearly beyond the point of holding himself back when presented with the chance to suck David's cock. He gripped the base of David’s cock and gently but firmly guided it straight down his throat. The wet heat of Patrick’s mouth felt like heaven after the teasing he’d endured. He fisted his fingers in the comforter as Patrick pulled up and off to lick at the tip, his tongue wriggling into the slit before he took all of David in his mouth once more. All too soon, David was at the edge and when he tried to warn Patrick, he just gripped David’s hips even tighter until David had no choice but to spill right down Patrick’s throat with a shout. Patrick sucked gently as David’s orgasm worked its way through David’s body, pulling off entirely when David’s thighs started to tremble. Patrick wiped the back of his mouth and beamed at him and all David could do was pout and ineffectively paw at the waistband of Patrick’s pants.</p><p>“Nooo, it can’t be over.” David whined and Patrick laughed as he pulled his own pants off, leaving them both gloriously naked together for the first time. Although David had already had the pleasure of having Patrick’s gorgeously thick cock in his mouth, he took a moment to greedily let his eyes roam over Patrick’s strong body. A body with the strength to not only keep him safe but to hopefully pound him into the mattress.</p><p>“Of course, it’s not over, sweet prince. I said I was going to taste you, didn’t I?” Patrick winked and David’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion momentarily as Patrick settled back between his legs. David was about to ask what he was talking about when Patrick physically yanked David’s hips up. Strong fingers pulled apart his ass cheeks until David was held up enough so that his exposed hole met the wet slide of Patrick’s eager tongue. David covered his face with his hands as a loud high pitched moan was ripped from his throat before he could stop it. He was both horrendously embarrassed and aroused at being manhandled in such a way but his body opened right up under Patrick like it had been just waiting for the perfect opportunity to betray him. Gravity caused a steady stream of precome to dribble down his chest and the desperate licks and noises that emanated from Patrick’s mouth only served to turn him on even further.</p><p>Even after coming not all that long ago, David felt his release inching closer and closer as Patrick pressed deeper and deeper and deeper inside, his tongue opening David up to take more of him on each pass. David was almost relieved when Patrick finally pulled back if only to have a moment to catch his breath and will his cock not to shoot its load all over his face. There was the snick of the lube bottle David recognized as the very same one he’d tucked into his overnight bag and when Patrick had Patrick gotten that and holy <em>shit</em> was he holding David up with one hand now? David was barely able to process these thoughts as Patrick returned to tonguing his hole, this time accompanied by one insistent finger. Patrick’s finger was thick and callused but he pressed it inside with a kind of gentle intensity David was not used to from his bed partners. The first finger was quickly followed by a second and Patrick lowered David back to the bed.</p><p>“Better viewing angle.” Patrick said, his voice a little hoarse, a little breathless, and David fully expected his eyes to drift down to where his fingers were stretching David so expertly. David’s heart blossomed open wide in his chest with delight as Patrick kept his gaze centered on David’s face instead.</p><p>“So good, Patrick. It’s so good. I can take another.” David assured him when he felt a third finger brush gently around the stretched rim of his hole. Patrick smiled softly and gave him the third finger. The stretch was perfect, just the right edge of being full but not overly full and David knew he needed at least three to accommodate Patrick’s cock. Patrick continued to thrust his fingers in and out of David with that same gentle intensity. His smile had shifted into a determined look of concentration and David wailed loudly when those fingers brushed up against his prostate. Patrick grinned and rubbed mercilessly over the sensitive bundle of nerves, making David twitch and cry out with pleasure,</p><p>“Fuck me! Oh, fuck me, please!” David didn’t care how frantic he sounded as Patrick continued to wear that smug look of confidence. It was both insanely attractive and maddening.</p><p>“Are you sure?” Patrick asked, as he eased his rubbing down to a gentle petting motion that somehow made David’s cock drip even more than it had with the rubbing. “We don’t have to—” David slapped his hand down on the mattress and fixed Patrick with a scowl he hopped looked intimidating.</p><p>“Don’t make me wait. That’s an order from your prince.” Patrick laughed and if David weren’t so desperate to finally be filled, he might consider it one of the best sounds he'd ever heard.</p><p>“Ah well if my majesty commands.” Patrick solemnly moved back and David was going to complain some more but Patrick was working a condom onto his cock. David moved to roll onto all fours for Patrick’s benefit but Patrick pressed him back down to the bed with a firm hand on his hip. “No, sweetheart. Not for our first.” David swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. He just hoped he’d be able to keep his eyes open enough to watch when Patrick finally entered him. David spread his legs wide enough so that Patrick could move back in between them. Patrick smoothed his hands up and down David’s legs, massaging them as he smiled down at him.</p><p>“This is all I’ve wanted for so long, I’m kind of nervous.” Patrick admitted, ducking his head shyly like he hadn’t been eating David out like a champ not five minutes ago. But of course David understood, the weight of the years of longing and hurt and then, eventually, unexpectedly, this. The two of them joined together at last for however long they could make this work without being caught. David reached for Patrick’s hand and gave it a squeeze. For once, David knew exactly what to say.</p><p>“Don’t be nervous. I’m yours.” Patrick’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and he bent down to kiss David. David could feel the same devotion he felt for Patrick reflected back in the kiss. Patrick shifted and without breaking the kiss, David could feel the firm press of Patrick’s cock as he thrust inside in one steady motion.</p><p>Even with the long preparation Patrick had given him, David had never felt so full. He’d also never felt so happy, safe and secure in Patrick’s arms as he kissed him gently while waiting for David to adjust. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. When they finally broke their kiss of air, Patrick brushed them away with trembling fingers. They both laughed, happy, hopeful little giggles that filled the air around them until Patrick finally began to move. The nerves from before had clearly subsided as Patrick pulled almost all the way out, keeping the rim of David’s hole stretched around the fat head of his cock before sliding back home in one mesmerizing roll of his hips. Patrick spread David’s legs further and used the leverage to thrust in even deeper, shocking a loud shout of pleasure from David as his cock slammed right up against his prostate.</p><p>“There, there, there, <em>there</em>, fuck me!” David babbled as he arched his back to keep Patrick inside him for as long as possible. Patrick rolled his shoulders, steadied his knees on the bed, and pistoned his hips in short, powerful thrusts that made David see stars. It was so unbelievably good, the feeling of Patrick’s strong hands pressed into his skin as he fucked into David hard.</p><p>“God, David. You feel amazing. So tight and perfect.” Patrick’s chest was damp with sweat and his skin glowed in the dim light of the room. David’s cock twitched at the rough edge to his voice and Patrick seemed to understand exactly what David wanted from him. “Perfect for me because you’re all mine, aren’t you?” David gasped and nodded but Patrick clearly expected more effort from him. He stilled, pinning David to the bed, as he leaned forward to whisper into David’s ear, “I want to hear your voice, little Prince. Tell me who makes you feel so good.” David clenched his teeth and tried to press down to get Patrick’s cock back inside but Patrick held him in place.</p><p>“Yours, all yours, Patrick, please let me come!” Patrick immediately began to fuck him again just as hard if not harder than before. David cried out and his vision went white as he came between their heaving bodies. Come landed across his stomach and chest and Patrick fucked him through it. It was just along the line of too much and when Patrick himself finally tipped over the edge, David could only feel grateful that their first time was even better than anything he could have imagined. He drifted for a while after that as Patrick pulled out and tied off the condom. He listened as Patrick moved around the apartment, heard the drip of running water, and then the cool press of a damp cloth between his legs, cleaning the come off of his cock and the lube from between his cheeks. Then Patrick’s arms were wrapped around him once more and David burrowed forward into his chest wanting to be as close as possible. Patrick hummed, his fingers teasing at the fine hair at the nape of David’s neck. David didn’t even care he was probably still a mess by his own standards because no force on earth could convince him to leave Patrick’s arms. Patrick kissed his forehead.</p><p>“Worth the wait?” Patrick asked, his lips brushing against David’s skin as he spoke, and David wanted to laugh or cry or maybe run up to the roof top and scream just how worth it it was. How he'd go through all the pain and hurt and loneliness again just to have have this perfect night with Patrick. Instead, he allowed Patrick to pull him in tighter and he pillowed his head on Patrick’s chest, listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat. “Worth the wait.” David finally agreed and they both fell into a cozy, dreamless sleep. Dreams held no power now that they both had what they’d been dreaming of for so long. Against all odds, they were together at last.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay so this took <i> an entire month longer than I wanted</i>. I had every intention of posting this the very next weekend after the last chapter but then Dan on SNL happened and then life and motivation didn't quite line up correctly until this weekend. I wanted to make it special because I believe writing any version of their night at Stevie's is a right of passage for a smut writer in this fandom. I hope you liked my take on it and that you've enjoyed the conclusion of this little backstory fic that ended up being not so little in the end. I have three more fics planned in this verse so I'm hoping you'll stick with me for the ride! Thanks for all the love! ❤️</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you feel so inclined, kudos and comments make for a very grateful and happy writer.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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